Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2026
Personnel - Brandon Seabrook: guitar, banjo; Elias Stemeseder: piano, synth; []: Henry Fraser: bass; Erica Dicker: violin.
In a lucid sonic exploration of dream logic and surreal storytelling, Hellbent Daydream marks a new chapter for guitarist, banjoist, and composer Brandon Seabrook, a daring experimentalist who shapes a quartet increasingly defined by balance and structure. Joined by imaginative Austrian keyboardist Elias Stemeseder, resilient Brooklyn-based bassist Henry Fraser, and versatile violinist Erica Dicker, Seabrook carefully crafts arrangements that avoid clichés while amplifying the idiosyncrasies of his compositions.
“Name Dropping is the Lowest Form of Conversation” moves through spacious chamber settings that waltz effortlessly, privileging poised sophistication over wild rhythmic attacks. Its precise, flawless movements transport the listener to cinematic soundscapes, accented by surprising synth interjections, pizzicato violin, and fuzzy guitar. The title track, “Hellbent Daydream”, employs a more compact orchestration, balancing opaque textures with radiant projections.
Seabrook wields his banjo with flair on “Bespattered Bygones” and “The Arkansas Tattler”, infusing folk charisma and transporting listeners to an alternate, enchanting reality. “Bespattered Bygones” is gradually constructed from layered elements—terse violin phrasing, confident bow on strings turned groovy bass pizzicato, and flute-tinged synths—waltzing steadily before introducing a martial-like, hopping march interwoven with abstraction and improvisation. “The Arkansas Tattler”, rooted in Americana, begins with solo bass deliberation before swelling into a transcendent clamor.
The avant-garde burner “I’m a Nightmare and You Know It” bursts with mercurial guitar chords, soaring piano, and skittering motifs. The quartet engages in texture-defining interplay, evoking Afrobeat dances and psychedelic rock riots, seamlessly interwoven with ambient passages. This energetic yet controlled approach also defines “Existential Banger Infinite Ceiling”, a propulsive, unpredictable piece that nimbly alternates between rippling figures, Eastern-tinged lamentation, and the extreme tonal contrasts of bass and violin.
Seabrook closes the program with “Autopsied Cloudburst”, a wild, shredding exploration that finishes on a mysterious, open-ended note. Unafraid to shift backdrops and contexts, Seabrook confirms his position at the forefront of vanguard jazz, offering a spellbinding and consistently inventive aural journey.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Bespattered Bygones ► 04 - I’m a Nightmare and You Know It ► 05 - Existential Banger Infinite Ceiling