RX Bandits - ‘Mandala’

At least the ska-punk band they once were had a sense of identity...

Rating: 6Genre boundaries stretched to the point of snapping, traditional song structures disregarded and guitars that twitch and trickle, not only is ‘Mandala’ barely recognisable from RX Bandits’ earlier albums, it doesn’t really sound like anything at all. At least, the ska-punk band they once were had a sense of identity. The band now occupy a musical no man’s land. Their exploration across the genres is admirable, as is the infinite sense of musicianship but arguably it counts for little when the songs fail to deliver any real bite or at the very least, a decent chorus.

For fans of: Howard’s Alias, The Police