Rx Bandits - Mandala

Four-piece Cali band Rx Bandits are set to release their sixth studio album titled Mandala. The second release through Sargent House, the forthcoming release is due out on July 21.

In support to the release of Mandala, the band went on a national promo tour co-headlined with Dredg, with alternating openers Good Old War, Zechs Marquise and As Tall As Lions.

The metamorphic rock group's latest disc showcases a more rock-oriented quartet, while deftly sweeping in elements of Latin, prog-rock, punk, rock to dub and blues. The much anticipated follow-up to 2006’s ...And The Battle Begun jettisons ahead of where the last left off, scaling back the use of horns and adding more focus on balance and powerful dynamics. Songs like album opener "My Lonesome Only Friend" easily shift from entrancing chimes to full-on syncopated rock fury (replete with a molten John MacLaughlin-meets-Kirk Hammett guitar solo.) Elsewhere, blustery blasts of metallic guitars give way to swirling, proggy synths on "Hearts That Hanker For Mistake." Electric piano leads the blues-dub "March of the Caterpillar" while "Breakfast Cat" boasts the tightest rhythm guitar strumming and grooving drums this side of The Meters.