feature photo: Reuben Radding
As one of the most maverick of maverick guitarists who also happens to be a maverick banjoist, each new album is a challenge for Brandon Seabrook to do something he or anyone else hadn’t quite done before. He did a rare repeat of strategy the last time out as Object of Unknown Function was his second — but still satisfying — guitar/banjo solo foray. But now, Seabrook is ready again for something completely different.
For Hellbent Daydream (Pyroclastic Records), Seabrook forms a new quartet by augmenting his recent trio of bassist Henry Fraser and violinist Erica Decker with pianist and keyboardist Elias Stemeseder. The lineup is notable by what’s not there: a percussionist.
It’s also notable in that Seabrook’s off-kilter approach to composing might typically incorporate a lot of musical identities in molding his own, but this one leverages the guys in his quartet and feature heaping helpings of classical music. Classical music twisted, in the requisite Brandon Seabrook manner.
“Name Dropping is the Lowest form of Conversation, Waltz” is a through-composed piece, arguably a miniature symphony, funneled through Seabrook’s unique modern creative lens. Peppered with abrupt cuts and unexpected little pivots with suggestions of rock, it’s remindful of Frank Zappa’s high art side.
An experimental chamber music aura is the dominant aspect of “Bespattered Bygones,” too, but Seabrook is on banjo this time and putting it together with Dicker’s violin gives this tune a bluegrass spin, a feel that sticks even when Stemeseder is guddling around on a Moog-like synth.
“Hellbent Daydream” really sounds like that, an hallucinatory, psychedelic invention turned slightly macabre by mixing sunny chords with strange ones. “I’m a Nightmare and You Know It” is a series of cinematic interesting chord progressions and ostinatos. The mildly macabre strings of “Existential Banger Infinite Ceiling” set the tone for the song, where pregnant pauses and space are used to generate impact.
Seabrook returns to the banjo for “The Arkansas Tattler,” but this time using the instrument in its natural setting, in a hoedown at the start. Decker goes into fiddle mode for the occasion and much of the second half of the song is given over to Fraser until the entire quartet re-enters and merges with him to build up to an abrupt cutoff.
The imaginative compositions take a front seat for Hellbent Daydream, but advanced guitar chops of Seabrook find room to stretch on “Autopsied Cloudburst.”
Brandon Seabrook puts all sides of his virtuosity to work on Hellbent Daydream: imaginative composition, elite musicianship and — by maximizing his bandmates contributions — leadership. Get Hellbent Daydream now from Bandcamp.
| Album Cover | Artist | Title | Format | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Brandon Seabrook | Hellbent Daydream | CD | Purchase Here |
 | Brandon Seabrook | Object of Unknown Function | CD | Purchase Here |
 | Brandon Seabrook | Brutalovechamp | CD | Purchase Here |
 | Brandon Seabrook and Simon Nabatov | Voluptuaries | CD | Purchase Here |
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