Rx Bandits

[YI]

One of the freshest bands around? I definately think so!

Started life as a ska-punk band, now hands down one of my favourite prog-rock artists around, still blending in elements of ska here and there. Truly awesome stuff. "...And The Battle Begun" was one of my favourite albums of 2006, and I gave it a whirl today and I forgot just how awesome this thing was. Such a unique, interesting sound they have, so much variation and styles mixed in.

If you don't know/don't listen to the band itself, I know a lot of you like The Sound Of Animals Fighting. Some of the members (founding members) come from Rx Bandits. I missed a chance to catch them live last year, and I've never forgiven myself, they're apparently insane live, breaking into jams and stuff.

Seriously, ska gets such a bad rep here for no reason. As people seem to associate it with the kind of Reel Big Fish, retarded lyrics, catchy hooks, cheesy horns...which is awesome, to some extent, but there's so much more to ska, especially now. In fact, it's one of the most exciting genres at the moment, with lots of the 'big' bands in the genre all going in different directions. Rx Bandits, as said, going for a more prog-rock approach. Streetlight Manifesto adding a more jazzy influence to their new record. Mad Caddies putting out a Jamaican dancehall influenced album. Big D's last offering being much darker, cool, somewhat 2-tone style offering...definate hint of The Specials. Then Bomb The Music Industry! who are very much a whole DIY style stuff, mixing in electronics, and having a much 'harsher' sound.

.....and this ends "YI sells ska...and still nobody listens" for this week...seriously...if you check out one band...make it be these.

[New Damage]

This is strange that a topic on them pops up, as after having the album for about a month from a friend, I finally gave it a metaphorical spin. It was better than I expected and was pretty good. Not my favourite type of music, but definately one that I'll put on again sometime.

[VerbalPuke]

Mad Caddies putting out a Jamaican dancehall influenced album.

This is the kind of ska I can dig. I like the older dancehall stuff, the Jamaican dub shit, the stuff that is found on the Trojan Ska box sets. Your Desmond Dekkers of the world don't get nearly enough credit for their musical output, this is the kind of music that the early skinheads were jamming to. It's a shame most people overlook it.

[Cactus Drags]

Pronounced Rex or R.X. ?

[YI]

"Ahr-Eks", so "R.X" yeah. It's after the 'prescription' thing.

[New Damage]

I really like the first track of that album, despite it not really being a song as such, just an intro. If my friend tagged it correctly, it's called "Untitled" too.

[OGpistolpete]

Oh I used to be in love with this band like a year ago. Listened to all their albums, with The Resignation being one of my all-time favorite albums, and 'Taking Chase As The Serpent Slithers' being one of my all time favorite songs.

I think '...And The Battle Begun' is one of the poorer tracks on that album though. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying there are better; specifically 'A Mouth Full of Hollow Threats?', '1980', 'Epoxi-Lips', and 'Apparition'. '...And The Battle Begun' seems a little too slow for me to get into, while the other songs I mentioned have catchier beats and have little pops in the songs that get me into it.

But I definitely think The Resignation is a better album. Perhaps it's because it has a less-dark feel to the album, with faster melodies to the songs; but both are good for different types of moods one can be in. Almost every song is something I can get into at any time, except for the fact that a bunch of the songs preach all this liberal, anti-conformity crap that I don't really feel like listening to. 'Falling Down The Mountain', 'Dinna-Dawg', and 'Pal-Treaux' are definitely also favorites off the album, which is odd because they seem to focus more on the music that the lyrics. But 'Mastering The List' and 'Decrescendo' are also awesome.

What can I say, I love Rx Bandits and had been trying to get people into this band for awhile, but I finally just gave up because no one I knew really liked ska or this style of ska.

Edited May 13, 2008 by SKA