Whenever I get into one band or a particular genre, I tend to embrace it fully. Once I buy one CD, it's not long before I begin trying to amass the rest of the group's discography and/or I begin to spread out to other bands in the genre. For the past year and a half, one particular genre I came to love was ska punk. With this newfound interest came a love for several bands including the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Catch 22, Mustard Plug, Dance Hall Crashers, and back in December, the RX Bandits.
In my initial ska phase back in the summer of 2015, I routinely skimmed over my local record store's small ska section, which is where I first recognized the group, with their album Halfway Between Here & There. Maybe in the past I had seen the name in passing, but it didn't leave an impression on me. However, I didn't end up buying it at the time, mainly because it was $6 and I'm a stingy bastard who wasn't willing to pay that much for a band I hadn't heard before.
Jump forward to December. Once again I was at the record store trolling for cheap music, this time in the budget section (this store has two sections, the main one where everything tends to be between $2-$10 and a massive budget section where everything is under $1). While sifting through the budget CDs, I came across another album by the RX Bandits for a dollar, which I figured I could take a chance on. Turns out I liked it.
Over the next several months I began collecting CDs by the RX Bandits, including the one I originally came across in August, which had still not been sold. As I began accumulating their albums, several of them became staples of this past summer, the most recent being 2014's Gemini, Her Majesty, which I got only a couple weeks ago.
While I tend to lump the group in with many other ska punk bands, this band has much more diverse palette than many other ska bands. If anything I would only classify their first three and even then, that's pushing it with their third album, Progress. Starting with this album, the band began to push its musical boundaries, which only expanded further and further with each release. By the time the band released Gemini, Her Majesty, their sound had largely expunged their initial ska punk sound for a progressive rock sound with quirky time signatures, lengthier songs, and more technical instrumentation. However, as odd as some of their songs may be, they are still accessible. In short, they went from being a Reel Big Fish clone to a quasi-cross between Sublime, Fugazi and Rush, creating a sound I have not heard from anybody else. The band also features much broader topics than their contemporaries, touching on subjects ranging from relationships to politics, and while I don't particularly share their sentiments, I commend them for taking greater leaps in terms of subject matter.
Overall, the group's material is a neat journey to listen to. Each album displays its own sound, and they all play into the band's progression and creation of their own sound when you look at all of them in the grand scheme of things.
Breakdown of My Collection
1. Halfway Between Here and There (1998, CD) - This was the band's second album, but the first under the moniker "RX Bandits". Before this album, they put out an album titled Those Damn Bandits as the Pharmaceutical Bandits. However, that album is long out of print, and I am not willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money for a copy, however you can get it on iTunes. Nonetheless, this is basically the earliest album you can get in hard copy without paying $50. Musically, this album has the RX Bandits playing typical 90s ska punk. The music and lyrical themes are fairly lighthearted and simplistic compared to the band's later works and of all their works, it is probably their least essential of the albums listed, but it remains a decent album. So if you're interested in checking out the band's material, this is not the best album to start with.
Highlights: "Gun in Your Hand", "This Time", "Andrea"
2. Progress (2001, CD) - Generally considered the band's breakout album, this album shows the band experimenting with deeper and darker sounds and themes, as well as broader influences. If you ask me, this is a good place to start if you want to get into the group. It has some of the ska that defined their earlier sound, with some of the more progressive tendencies present in their later works.
Highlights: "VCG3", "Analog Boy", "Status", "Get", "Who Would've Thought"
3. The Resignation (2003, CD) - The Resignation was actually my first album and was what got me into the group. Musically, it finds the band at a crossroads. Rather than playing progressive ska punk like on Progress, it features the band playing some of the heaviest, most rock-intense material of their career, separating their sound into two. Some songs are distinctly heavy rock and punk, while others are closer to reggae. It also features some of the band's most political material, which adds to the heaviness of the work.
Highlights: "Sell You Beautiful", "Prophetic", "Newstand Rock (Exposition)" "Taking Chase As the Serpent Slithers"
4. ...And the Battle Begun (2006, CD) - This album finally has the band really starting to embracing the progressive rock angle in their sound, and is probably my favorite of their albums. With this album, the time signatures get much quirkier, the music gets more technical, and the overall sound is far more diverse. If want to get into this group, I'd recommend this album if you don't check out Progress first.
Highlights: "Only For the Night", "And the Battle Begun", "In Her Drawer", "On a Lonely Screen"
5. Mandala (2009, CD) - I came across a really cheap copy of this album on Amazon and debated whether or not to buy it for several weeks. I finally caved in back in July and bought it and I haven't regretted it. By this album, the band's sound had fully morphed into the ska-inflected progressive rock they had been inching towards since Progress. It tones down some of the reggae influences of ...And the Battle Begun, and the progressive influences are played up. While it may not be one of the best albums by them to start with, it is pretty rewarding once you get into them.
Highlights: "My Lonesome Only Friend", "It's Only Another Parsec", "Hope Is A Butterfly, No Net Its Captor…(The Virus Of Silence)", "Mientras La Veo Soñar", "Breakfast Cat"
6. Gemini, Her Majesty (2014, CD) - Being the most recent album by the group, I have yet to really sit down and listen to it, but in the chances I have gotten to listen to it, I can see that it is fairly close to Mandala in terms of sound, carrying the same progressive-reggae-rock sound and much like Mandala, presenting an enjoyable listening experience.
Highlights: "Wide Open", "Stargazer", "Meow! Meow! Space Tiger", "Fire to the Ocean"
If nothing else, the group stands out amongst many of the other bands I listen to for their more diverse sound and the fascinating development they went through to get to that sound. This diverse sound is also good because it can draw in people with varying tastes. Some who like punk can enjoy songs like "Sell You Beautiful" while progressive rock fans can listen to "Breakfast Cat", "Hope Is A Butterfly, No Net Its Captor…(The Virus Of Silence)" and "And the Battle Begun" and reggae fans can enjoy "Babylon", "In All Rwanda's Glory", and "Overcome (The Capitulation)".
In short, this band has songs for fans of many different types if music, so if you like any of these types of things, you should check these guys out. If nothing else, it may open your eyes to some of the other sounds they play with as well.
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