feature photo: Frank Heath
As a guitarist who is always exploring new vistas for creativity, Brandon Seabrook undertakes each project as a quest to extend his range and make what is possible previously thought impossible. Utility Modern (October 2 2026, Out Of Your Head Records) is inspired by the idea of broadening what is possible on the guitar by using four hands on it instead of two.
He can’t really have four hands play the same guitar of course, but he came up with the next best thing: he brought in another guitarist to play along with him and composed the music as if the two were using a single guitar. The collaborator Seabrook chose is someone who’s been a huge influence on him: Bill Frisell.
Bringing in a personal hero to play on his record in this context meant that Seabrook would still occupy the top bunk. But in spite his iconic status, playing second guitar is not a new concept to Frisell; Bill did just fine in support of John Scofield for the latter’s excellent Grace Under Pressure album back in the 90s.
“Four hands on one guitar” is just how this sounds on Utility Modern. “Crater For Ascending Angles” has a luscious sonority from these four hands working from as if one body, giving it an almost harp-like quality. But this isn’t Alice Coltrane spiritual jazz, it grooves, thanks to the snug pocket forged by Carter and Gilmore. It also has the Seabrook signature left turn, the chiming string suddenly turning caustic and overdriven. And his quirky solo is absolutely remindful of nobody, including even himself.
But this doubling up on guitar isn’t a one-song gimmick. They interlock on the snaky lead pattern for “The Serial Fabulist” and then Seabrook peels away for another idiosyncratic solo. And then the ending section layers on strumming acoustic guitars. All unexpected but welcome originalities.
“Star-Crossed Phantasms” throw off Allan Holdsworth fusion vibes in its chord changes but Seabrookâs solo run is anything but legato. “Once Upon A Time In The Quest” sees Seabrook and Frisell combining for a wide range of maneuvers, from Frisell-styled folk fingerpicking to lustrous, layered arpeggiations. “Document and Tapestry” unhurriedly moves along but Seabrook’s aside contrasts with a slightly nervous energy that calls to mind Nels Cline.
“Membrane Soundtable” is an instance where the “four hands, one guitar” approach is discarded, because Seabrook resorts to his banjo this time. Frisell answers Seabrook’s twisted hillbilly notions with his own slightly bent declarations on guitar as they both move out toward freedom.
So catchy and at the same time going outside, “The Guitar Is A Weather Event, Even” reaches prime time when Seabrook and Frisell trade licks that sound like no one else on either channel. Carter’s bass is the centering force that keeps tabs on the melody.
There’s no such thing as a ‘normal’ Brandon Seabrook record and Utility Modern is abnormal in all the right ways. With Bill Frisell as his partner in crime, Seabrook is able to expand an already wide vision for the guitar.
Order Utility Modern from Bandcamp.
- Christy Doran + Imran Khan – ‘Disambiguation’ (2026) - October 2, 2026
- Brandon Seabrook feat. Bill Frisell – ‘Utility Modern’ (2026) - October 1, 2026
- Camila Nebbia’s The Hanged One – ‘Limbo’ (2026) - September 24, 2026
