Brand X - XCommunication: Trilogy II (1992) [Reissue 2005]

Xcommunication will leave you fairly gasping for breath. Lacking most of the British eccentricity of '70s Brand X but ripe with the experimental moves of bassist Percy Jones' solos, Xcommunication zigs and zags through a tumultuous landscape of swaggering synth effects, bizarre fretless bass, and frenetic drumming courtesy of new member Frank Katz. If any cut here is reminiscent of days past, it is "A Duck Exploding," which calls to mind the splendid Masques and Do They Hurt? sessions. Jones and guitarist John Goodsall have lost neither their touch nor their songwriting abilities. If anything, they have perhaps put the "progressive" elements of fusion back into proper perspective. Brand X have returned at quite an opportune time. Make no mistake about its '90s ambitions; Xcommunication cooks.