Mandala (Rx Bandits album)
Mandala is the sixth full-length studio album from Rx Bandits. Released on July 21, 2009, it is the band's second album released through Sargent House, and their first as a 4-piece band.
| Mandala | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 21, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2008-2009 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, alternative rock | |||
| Length | 52:40 | |||
| Label | Sargent House | |||
| Producer | Chris Fudurich | |||
| Rx Bandits chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| idiomag | (favourable)[2] |
| Sputnikmusic | |
Writing and production
The band began writing and recording the album in late 2008[4] with producer Chris Fudurich, who had produced 2 of the band's prior full-length albums: 2001's Progress and 2003's The Resignation. At some point early in the album's development, trombone player Chris Sheets left the band for undisclosed reasons. The album does feature horns on a few tracks such as "Bury It Down Low" and "Bled To Be Free (The Operation)" which were provided by Nat Love (The English Beat) and Steve White.The album was completed in spring of 2009.Throughout production of Mandala, RX provided video updates of their progress, and in the near future, a DVD is to be released that contains studio footage from during the recording of Mandala as well as footage of an acoustic show at Saint Rocke in May 2009, and various other unreleased videos.
Artwork
The album artwork was created by visual artist Sonny Kay. The band posted the album artwork on their blog along with a video featuring an animated version of the artwork and a 30-second clip from a new song.[5]
Release
The album was released on July 21, 2009 through Sargent House. The album's press release promised a "more rock-oriented four-piece, scaling down the use of horns to create a new twist to their constantly evolving dynamic." On June 18, 2009, the album was made available for pre-order with several different packages available.[6]
The album was leaked onto the internet through various filesharing sites on June 26, 2009. The album was later released digitally a week early through Amazon MP3 as a special deal for $2.99. As a result of the sale, the album reached #1 on Amazon's Bestselling MP3 Albums on July 16, 2009.[7]
The album peaked at #117 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It also peaked #3 on the top heatseekers chart and #23 on the independent albums chart.[8] The song "Its Only Another Parsec..." was featured in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Matthew Embree; all music is composed by Rx Bandits.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Lonesome Only Friend" | 4:03 |
| 2. | "It's Only Another Parsec…" | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Hope Is a Butterfly, No Net Its Captor, She Beats Her Wings and Softly Sings of Summer Scent and Children's Laughter… (Virus of Silence)" | 4:23 |
| 4. | "Hearts That Hanker for Mistake" | 4:31 |
| 5. | "Mientras la Veo Soñar" | 6:36 |
| 6. | "March of the Caterpillar" | 4:12 |
| 7. | "White Lies" | 4:30 |
| 8. | "Bury It Down Low" | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Breakfast Cat" | 5:16 |
| 10. | "Bled to Be Free (The Operation)" (Lyrics co-written by Joe Troy) | 4:37 |
| 11. | "Bring Our Children Home or Everything Is Nothing" | 6:19 |
Album personnel
- Matt Embree - vocals, guitar
- Steve Choi - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
- Joseph Troy - bass, backing vocals
- Chris Tsagakis - drums
References
- Allmusic review
- idiomag review
- Sputnikmusic review
- "Rx Bandits video update." Punknews.org. November 30, 2008.
- "Introducing Mandala." Rx Bandits blog. May 12, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- "Rx Bandits announce release date." Absolutepunk.net. May 14, 2009.
- "Support Real Music - Buy This." Absolutepunk.net. July 14, 2009.
- Mandala at Billboard.com. Retrieved September 18, 2009.