RX Bandits- "Mandala"

NOTE: I made it my goal to have reviews out before an album was/is released, however, I've decided to make an exception for this band. Cheers to breaking the rules...

For ska bands trying to make it in the 1990s, Southern California was a good place to be. The third wave ska revival found a niche in Orange County, where bands like Sublime, No Doubt, Save Ferris, The Aquabats, Reel Big Fish and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones made it big seemingly overnight. Now here's my question: ever heard of the RX Bandits? There are a sad few who actually have. Though they formed in the OC in 1995 after humble beginnings in Seal Beach, RXB never quite hit the bigtime like the aforementioned bands. Maybe it was their obscure indie label. Maybe they enetered the forray on the tail-end of the revival, a mere afterthought to the movement. But I can tell you it was NOT because of a lack of talent.

One week ago, RXB released it's 7th album (8th, if you include the Live from Bonnaroo sampler up on iTunes), entitled Mandala. This album proves the first time the Bandits have worked with a four-piece sound; Chris Sheets, the band's steadfast trombone player, left partway through the album's production. Mandala represents a significant step away from their ska origins towards more progressive rock. Horns play a much less significant role in this album in comparison to previous albums; the heavily-accented offbeat remains but has also been toned down a bit. The keyboard plays a highly prolific part, sprinkled thorughout in a Doors-like fashion. Simply put, the sound is more controlled, more adult. The ebb and flow of the music manages to be explosively reigned in, a barreling, oncoming train of sizeable proportions that never seems to derail.

This may be RXB's heaviest production yet. It's loud and it means business from the first to the last chords. The lurching, lunging feel of “Hope Is A Butterfly, No Net Its Captor, She Beats Her Wings And Softly Sings Of Summer Scent And Childrens Laughter (Virus Of Silence)” with tempo changes and sweeps that would make diehard metal-heads proud, is a rollicking good time. Guitars furiously strum to keep up with the rapidly-evolving rhythms, and this song gives RXB an excellent canvass to show off their fondness for elaborate sweeps and solos. “Breakfast Cat” hits the ground running, opening with some tricky riffs and never slowing down once after that. Musically, after Matt Embree has sung his peace, it dissolves into a sensory progression of guitar solos drifting into the ether. The album manages to be both cerebral and grounded, balancing solid rock with emotive ambience.

Perhaps the most beautiful song of all, “Mientras La Veo Soñar” is a highly progressive track that begins in electro territory and settles into a percussion-fueled bilingual poetry jam. With lyrics like, "I know/ lavender and oak leaves/ kisses often sleep on the belly/ like the records dragon fly/ time was sparrowed through the sky/ I know creatures in the gander light/ when up to the heart/ a kiss goodnight," I was pretty much in love. This album is living testament to the beauty of evolution, evidence that with time, all things improve. Congrats RXB, a job well done.

Rating-4.3 stars out of 5

Highlight Tracks- "Mientras La Veo Soñar," "March of the Caterpillar," "Hope Is A Butterfly, No Net Its Captor, She Beats Her Wings And Softly Sings Of Summer Scent And Childrens Laughter (Virus Of Silence)"