They first got together in 2012 as part of Gerald Cleaver’s noisy jazz-rock endeavor Black Host and now the drummer Cleaver, Cooper-Moore and guitarist Brandon Seabrook reconvene under Seabrook’s banner this time. To say Exultations is a different Brandon Seabrook album is to not acknowledge that all of his records are different from each other. Yes, his prior album’s band was a trio, too, but that was guitar with double bass and cello. Here, Cleaver of course handles drums and Black Host keyboardist Cooper-Moore is playing a diddley bow, which effectively functions as a bass guitar.
That diddley bow alone makes these group improvisations unique, but it really comes down to the creative forces arrayed, here. The chemistry carries over from Black Host but under Seabrook’s leadership, the songs are even further away from conventional structures. And absent keyboards and a sax, that chemistry from the three remaining guys is further exposed.
That’s what makes this record click. It’s fun to hear Cooper-Moore react to Cleaver, Cleaver respond to Seabrook, Seabrook provoke Cooper-Moore, and so on. Cleaver sets the galloping rhythm for “Flexing Fetid and Fecund” and Seabrook skitters all around it, changing up tactics midway. That diddly bow does maintain the bottom, but Cooper-Moore doesn’t play it like a typical bass player would, instead opting to hew close to Cleaver.
Cooper-Moore set up another groove for “Dark Bogs” and Seabrook goes on the attack — melody didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell — and plays his guitar like a machine gun, obliterating most everything in front of him at headlong ferocity. And when he runs out of bullets, he pulls out the bazooka.
There’s a secret math in Seabrook seemingly scattershot lines, though, and listening close to “Behavioral Tub” reveals by his percussive patterns he’s very much aware of the rhythmic murmur caused by Cooper-Moore and Cleaver. Cleaver then steps out to put finer points out front what he was playing in the background. A celestial contour from Seabrook’s guitar sets the stage for “Essential Exultations,” serving as a backdrop to an unhurried diddley bow. Even when Cooper-Moore stands on the sidelines, Seabrook remains distant, content to create and shape an alien soundscape.
“Cudgel Majik” nods in the direction of metal-punk (the realization that the diddley bow sounds so natural in this setting leads me to believe an incredible opportunity is being missed by these thrash metal bands). Cooper-Moore gets a solo here, thrumming out rubbery notes that does more to make the song more doom-laden than even the fuzzed-out guitar.
Seabrook plays like a sped up, dissonant T-Bone Walker for much of “Along Comes Diddley,” and Cleaver settles into a rock groove as Cooper-Moore vigorously works that diddley bow.
You never know what to expect from a new Brandon Seabrook album, aside from that it’s guaranteed to be way outside the bounds of normal. Exultations is certainly that way, but Gerald Cleaver and Cooper-Moore make the perfect accomplices for this guitar/drums/diddley bow conspiracy.
Exultations is due to drop June 19, 2020 from Astral Spirits. Pre-order/order your copy from Bandcamp.
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