RX Bandits Meet Mandala

In an age where taking risks and being fearless can make or break you, RX Bandits have emerged as a tidal wave of diversity and flexibility. Over the ten years this band has been around, they've gone in more directions than one can count but have managed to retain their socially conscious stance and ability to play their instruments with reckless abandon. Now heading off in a more rock direction than previous efforts, Mandala is an ongoing testament to the RX Bandits' ability to be adapt and adjust to whatever suits their needs.

While still having a sense of progressiveness about them, RX Bandits successfully weave their way through genre's like a skier on a slalom course. Mandala might be rooted in a more rock oriented direction but you can sense the RX Bandits spreading their wings on each and every song. Sure, all the standard rock band standards apply, but what this band does is add flourishes of color to each song and allow the tunes to breathe and grow at it's own pace. There are jazzy breaks, prog rock riffs, eruptive guitar solos and more all within each song. The RX Bandits are clearly a band that knows no boundaries and are unafraid to explore whatever realm of music they feel will move a song in the right direction.

While the level of musicianship is absolutely ridiculous and sounds something like a more hip Mahavishnu Orchestra, the band loses a sense of what makes a song appeal to most people; simplicity. Nothing about Mandala is simple. In fact, most of Mandala is so complicated that unless you appreciate jazz or play an instrument, much of what appears on this record will be completely over your head. It's a technical demonstration on the wonders of rock and while those of us who have studied music in an almost academic like manner will appreciate every riff, most mainstream listeners just won't get what they're on about. Does this make Mandala a bad record. No, it's just not a record that most people will find easy to listen to.

Mandala is a technically brilliant, excellently played album from a band that jumps around musical styles like a little kid on a hopscotch court. It's a masterful demonstration of RX Bandits ongoing capacity to learn and adapt new styles to their ever growing repertoire. Mandala is not a pop album but is an album that will appeal to anyone who has tried to master an instrument. Now only if the record came w/a how to play guide.