MANIFEST DESTINY

At the time of this writing, John Goodsall has passed away and Brand X has ceased to exist. If there are no more recordings stashed away in a vault somewhere then this is indeed their final album, and a disappointing swan song it is. On about half of the tracks here the musicians mostly just seem to be rambling about, waiting for a groove to magically spring up out of thin air. The band's attempt to get with the times and try out some acid jazz on "XXL" (featuring barely audible R&B vocals from drummer Frank Katz) is only slightly less embarrassing and dull than one might think, and just what the hell is "The Worst Man" even supposed to be? It sounds like an AI's interpretation of funk music if you only fed it the dictionary definition. Some face is saved on "Drum Ddu" and the lengthy "Virus", both of which boast pretty powerful and memorable riffs, and the mysterious "Five Drops" which features some really impressive acoustic guitar and vibraphone licks over its ambient backdrop, but on the whole this has to be the least consistent album in Brand X's oeuvre. To have to close the book on such an amazing band with "Mr. Bubble Goes To Hollywood" (a weak two-minute drum solo) is a darn shame.