When Brandon Seabrook formed a new trio a few years ago with Cooper-Moore and Gerald Cleaver, he clearly had mischief on his mind. His guitar and banjo can already lay to waste musical sameness, and together with Cooper-Moore on diddley-bow and Gerald Cleaver on drums + electronics, Exultations (2020) became a deadly blend of improvisation, musicianship and just plain deviancy.
In the Swarm, out May 20, 2022, largely continues that formula but Seabrook added more post-tracking trickery in the mix, crafting structures out of chunks of jams. Thus, there’s even more unpredictability as a result of all the looping, overdubbing, jump cuts, etc., that can catch even listeners accustomed to Seabrook’s usual bag of tricks off guard. That’s especially true of the album’s first half.
“In the Swarm” is doom bossa nova – a sub-genre they might have just invented here – as Cooper-Moore lays down his swerving, scary bottom end and Seabrook goes hyper on his banjo, sometimes double tracking and effects to throw off the illusion of an off-kilter string ensemble. More overt use of Cleaver’s electronic eccentricities greet the start of “Subliminal Gaucheries,” from which a dissonant, tribal groove emerges only to recede again to let the drones and splotches re-emerge.
Cooper-Moore’s diddly-bow figure that launches “Vibrancy Yourself” could have worked well in a rock song, and with Seabrook on electric guitar we hear him throw out figures that alternately form rough textures and spectral blemishes.
“Crepuscule of Cleaver” is quite an exhibit for the drummer, starting out with an aggressive, stuttering beat and as Cooper-Moore somehow locksteps into it, some electronic blips sets up Seabrook’s torrential downpour of metal guitar shards that’s brief but leaves a large impression.
Once settled in, “Adrenaline Charters” ends up being a very direct presentation of this group: Cleaver with one of his lopsided grooves, Cooper-Moore playing a menacing but pliant ‘bass,’ and Seabrook taking his banjo to places no other banjo players dare take theirs. But that groove is the key ingredient because despite some weirdness swirling about, it’s got a well-defined heartbeat.
“Seething Excitations” is an even rawer jam, with Seabrook making hay on a heavily reverberating guitar. That kind of guitar – alone – sets the initial mood for the “Aghastitude” which leads into one of his more unconventional solos even coming from him.
Brandon Seabrook never undertakes paths chosen by others, but rarely has he had such willing and able partners in crime to carry out his scintillating eccentricities as Gerald Clever and Cooper-Moore. The partnership goes even deeper for In the Swarm.
In the Swarm is coming from Astral Spirits. Pre-order/order your copy from Bandcamp.
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