Instrumental math rockers Space Blood wowed us with their ‘There Will Be…’ EP last winter and now the Chicago two-piece have returned with a split EP with the rather brilliantly named New York band Hannibal Montana. Released on very limited edition cassette tape, you can download it now via Bandcamp for the bargain price of $3.
Space Blood’s ‘Stop, Drop and Don’t Worry About It’ opens the EP with some studio talk and a count-in before the fun-filled Axes-style math-rock guitars come crashing in. Then there’s frantic toing and froing between riffs and drums – and plenty of odd time signatures. As the song progresses in exceedingly twisted directions, the bass and drums battle for attention while around the halfway mark everything takes a downturn into something that sounds akin to Mylets battling with Alpha Male Tea Party. There’s also plenty of distortion, pedal effects and a heaviness it’s hard not to fall for.
In addition to their band name, Hannibal Montana also have a knack for memorable song titles with the sad-core sounding ‘Gut-wrenching Heartlessness vs. Heart-wrenching Gutlessness’ coming next on the EP. An eight-minute behemoth of a song, it combines the adventurous nature of Three Trapped Tigers with more traditional post-rock elements – especially when things get rather extreme around the five-minute mark. In a strange way the combination of powerful guitars and ‘ambient’ noise reminded us of Blur’s ‘Bugman’ – although things quickly become more Battles-esque with the closing looped riff.
After this, the two songs are given the remix treatment by Raccoon Acid and kuxxan and remain just as compelling. Planning to return to the UK in the late summer or early autumn, we’re excited to hear more from Space Blood – especially as they’re also set to release another split EP that will feature their favorite UK bands to coincide.
Filed under: EP review, New music, Preview Tagged: Album review, alternative music, alternative rock, Bandcamp, Chicago, EP review, experimental music, Hannibal Montana, math rock, new music, New York, post rock, rock music, Space Blood
