Emperor X is the project name of American songwriter and noise pop saboteur C. R. Matheny. In 2004, Matheny dropped his pursuit of a master's degree in physics to self-release a string of critically-acclaimed lo-fi speed folk. His releases debuted twice in one year in the top ten on the CMJ New Music chart (6/2004, 3/2005) and grabbed the attention of NPR, Pitchfork, All Music Guide, Tiny Mix Tapes and many others. The UK's Plan B magazine called his music "a swollen interfusion of capricious brilliance." Blogs and zines compared Matheny's tracks to The Microphones, Black Dice, and early Modest Mouse, and Coke Machine Glow even suggested that "indie may well have its own Prince."