Hannibal Montana

I'm going to plug their name one more time just because as the parent of a 6 year old who can't get enough Disney Channel, this band name just kicks ass and makes me chuckle everytime I see that annoying half blonde/half brunette yet always terrible actress & singer on screen.

The real scoop here on Hannibal Montana's self-titled album, is the disappointment from not having vocals. I'm hardly the guy that has to have vocals to make an album work (see White Out, Sonic Youth SYR series or Hovercraft to start), but as I've stated before, going instrumental is tough to make something memorable.

I do think Hannibal Montana put themselves on my radar at least. I enjoyed the entire album, all 10 tracks and nearly an hour of music.

It's primarily an instrument laden mine-field. The grooves start and stop at different points, and once Hannibal Montana gets grooving, they throw something else at you, whether it's a different tempo or a whole nother riff, they keep you on your toes.

As another positive, I've found this album to be entirely suited for my work week. It blends in very well to my massive online jukebox, which in effect is there primarily to keep me from getting bored and falling asleep.

I suppose the missing element here is the defining songs. In other words, I like to be able to listen and know exactly who or what is playing when it pops up on random. I haven't found that yet with Hannibal Montana. That doesn't mean I won't someday.

Recommended if you like:
Tortoise
Slint
Labradford - Sonic Dissonance

I’m getting pretty excited about this new series of posts. There’s really nothing more important to me than exposing new acts, and giving everyone their chance to shine. Hannibal Montana (great name!) is a New York band with a lot of attitude. They’re very different from the rest of the stuff on the site, but listening to their tracks is never a bother. The opposite is true actually: I really enjoy their punk rock style. It reminds me of high school in the best way possible. Warning, these tracks aren’t for those yearning for a quiet song to fall asleep to! Can’t hear the lyrics? Well, that’s cause there aren’t any! Check it! - The Wild Honey Pie

Hannibal Montana – Self-Titled

It’s not every day that you get a chance to listen to a band that lists both Wu-Tang Clan and Fugazi as their influences…

Hannibal Montana are a trio of New Yorkers who play their own brand of rock music which is almost entirely instrumental (save for an occasional sample here and there). “Fantasy Elbow Ride” almost sounded like a reworked version of one of RATM/Audioslave and have a little Tom Morello (or his twin brother, in case if he have one) hiding in there somewhere.

The rest of tracks, however, sound like more standard post rock workouts and while there’s hardly a trace of aforementioned Wu-Tang Clan in them, they do, indeed, bring to mind bands like Fugazi . While the band itself might not be there yet in terms of identity, all of this sounds like a solid effort, especially given that its a young/new band. And so, HM should be added to a growing list of bands intent on doing things their own way.
- http://ihrtn.com/