“The Montalban Quintet—featuring San Diego vets who’ve played in No Knife, Sleeping People and various other bands—is one of the best bands in San Diego that not enough people have heard. They’re somewhere between jazz, post-rock and Ennio Morricone’s film scores, and they’re amazing.”
– San Diego CityBeat
“There are elements of African music, minimalism, cinematic orchestral music, jazz and experimental rock. A combination that sounds like it might not work, yet it succeeds completely. [ Montalban Quintet’s ] debut album is a very strong release by a great new band. Perhaps the best thing you’ve never heard before… Check it out, you won’t be sorry.”
– The Siren’s Sound
“The new disc from Montalban Quintet is Under the River, and the six tunes are extended, primarily instrumental workouts that travel a path that skirts jazz, instrumental rock, and the more hypnotic side of modern cinematic orchestral music. It is inventive, different, and involving. Under the River is the kind of album that will collect awards, a great intro to the Montalban Quintet.”
– San Diego Troubadour
“Immediately, a sickly and sweaty trumpet fills my ears. The comfort I feel is overwhelming and I’m fucking addicted. The third track on this album is probably my favorite song of the year so far in this genre (whatever genre this is). Abajo del Mar is absolutely fucking sick fucking sick. It sounds fucking awesome.
GO BUY MONTALBAN QUINTET’S SELF TITLED ALBUM NOW”
– SYFFAL
“Transformative music, I think I’m going to call it. It’s a new phrase – new to me anyway, and that’s all that counts – but it’s something you’re familiar with already. It’s the blues, it’s Leonard Cohen, it’s Joy Division. It’s all the music that is ostensibly full of sorrow but which somehow fills your chest so that you feel it swelling, bursting with pride. And it’s right here in the heart of the Montalban Quintet. The band plays a really cinematic flavour of jazz. It’s very much of its time. This is one of the secrets of jazz that people don’t get. It’s not a music that carries its own history around with it, rather it’s created anew every time. For the Montalban Quintet, you can hear them reaching back through post-rock and into contemporary classical for their influences.”
– Doklands Daily Music Blog
“The Montalban Quintet is something of a San Diego Supergroup. Its members have played in bands like Sleeping People, No Knife and Pinback, though their own style of music is very different than those bands. The Group plays a fusion of jazz and post-rock in the vein of Tortoise, with a bit of cinematic expression in the vein of famed composer Ennio Morricone. It’s not rock music, but something more spacious and evocative. But most of all, It’s just plain gorgeous…”
– UNHERD Television Program
“Rarely does an ensemble come along that has its own vision, one that is rooted in the music the members heard around them and grew up with, yet is still original in conception. That is truly the case with the Montalban Quintet. One of the first to incorporate indie music conceptualizations placed within jazz frameworks, this ensemble has staked out a unique path. This is challenging music, to say the least, that both rewards and, upon completion of listening, leaves more questions asked than answered. This might be the most original music you’ll listen to this year, if you have courage to walk down this road. It’s not really about arriving as much as it is about the trip.”
– JazzReview.com
“The diverse musical background of the various band members contributes to an album that is jazzy, experimental and very refreshing.”
– The Snipe Magazine
“I love Pinback, I love horns .. jazz fan or not, I am already more than a little captivated by this album.”
– Music She Blogged / Toronto
“Cinematic is the first word I’d use to describe the Montalban Quintet. The music touches on Spaghetti Western, jazz and post-punk. Montalban Quintet is an epic journey through sound.”
– Transworld Surf Magazine
“Indie Fertility – Local Bands to Listen To…
Montalban Quintet: Who is this band, and what were they thinking? No matter – fans are talking. Bright tones, driving rhythms, mildly dark and pensive at times. They say: post- punk, minimalism, jazz, new music, 50′s schmaltz and field recordings. I say: jazz disguised as a rock band.”
– San Diego Reader