Caught in the Carousel

RX Bandits

Mandala
Sargent House

RX Bandits

On their follow up to 2006's ...And the Battle Begun, RX Bandits pick up where RX Bandits, or even the great RX Bandits wish they could have gone. Further, they blend elements of RX Bandits with RX Bandits to come up with something close to RX Bandits. What I'm playfully trying to convey is that the magnificent Mandala shows very little comparison to any specific artist and thus creates a uniquely brilliant sound.

The word challenging might not immediately fit with the phrase "instantly appealing," yet somehow, RX has managed to blend polyrhythms, syncopation and elements of improvisation together with those wonderfully elegant but sometimes violent time changes. Wrap it all up with fundamentals of punk, reggae, Latin and blues and you have this deliciously splendid opus. Each song is a barmy dash into the next. At times you may hear each member going off in their own direction, but taken as a whole you come away with a song.

The opener, "My Lonesome Only Friend," begins with an ethereal sounding keyboard, which gives way to ska-like drum/guitar rhythms, then breaks into a mad chorus. Mid-way through, the guitar solo should make Yngwie Malmsteen want to hang it up, not just for the pace at which it's played, but because of the melody it conveys while pushing the song forward. The opening of "Mientras La Veo Soñar" might make you wonder if there's about to be a guest appearance from Peter Gabriel or Kate Bush but then it quickly sways into a lovely up-tempo Latin rhythm. All lyrical and time change stops are pulled out on the closing "Bring Our Children Home or Everything is Nothing."

Imagine for a minute that you are one of the band members playing along with a young Charlie Parker and he launches into something that would make the world come to know him as "Bird." At that moment, the two parts—your playing vs. his style—might not fit for everyone who hears it. Fast forward: RX Bandit's Mandala album makes something equally challenging and immediately appealing while also jumping them ahead on their own game board of relentless drive for uniqueness.

VIVA!!
4.5/5 OI!'s
OI!, OI!, OI!, OI!, O

—Peter Hamm