Banana Hands was a two piece instrumental band from the indie hub of Boston, who have grown into a 5-piece since the recording of their debut album. Bon Voyage, the aforementioned debut, is, I hate to say, as confusing and difficult as the band’s moniker. The group’s sound on this particular release (which will surely change with the addition of three members) is rooted in noisy, avant-garde guitar and drum noodling. Where more accomplished and superior bands in this genre such as Lightning Bolt and Hella have perfected the art of spastic distortion drenched duets by infusing a sense of urgency and passion, these two things are sorely lacking from Banana Hand’s attempted execution, causing a completely uneventful and forgettable listening experience.

The album actually starts off with a mildly engaging guitar dronescape, but when the first interaction between the two members erupts on the track “Savers,” everything from this point on feels a bit messy. Instead of the guitars and drums working together to create the off-kilter jams, it often seems like the two players are battling each other. The drums occupy too much space in the mix, without enough variation to counteract and work with the unstructured, reverb-soaked guitar parts. This formula is repeated over and over throughout the album, with nary a track that stands out among the bunch.

At times, the guitars do hit on some interesting melodies, the opening of “Men’s Room Queens” being an adequate example of this. However, like the bulk of this release, these parts are never fully developed or explored, and after an awkward transition, the song sinks back into the abyss of noisy improvisation.

To be fair, Banana Hands are undoubtedly a couple of talented players with some interesting ideas. On “No Boats”, some disjointed synthesizers and a completely different drum production offer a glimmer of hope for this outfit’s future. Bon Voyage is a difficult and uninspired debut, but with the additional members and some refined songwriting, Banana Hands can hopefully right the sinking ship this release has caused.

-Nick Brandt