Hellbent Daydream
Pyroclastic, 2026
9/10
The always creative guitarist, banjoist and composer Brandon Seabrook is joined by Henry Fraser, Erica Dicker and Elias Stemeseder for these iconoclastic, jazz-ish sounds that incorporate dream logic and surreal storytelling.
“Name Dropping Is The Lowest Form Of Conversation, Waltz” opens with Seabrook’s animated guitar and Dicker’s fascination violin making for a warm yet exciting start, and “Bespattered Bygones” follows with Seabrook’s frisky banjo fills amid the bright delivery.
The title track lands in the middle and carries a distinct dreaminess that’s awash in ambience, while “I’m A Nightmare And You Know It” is a bit jagged, certainly atypical and radiates a unique rhythm thanks to Fraser’s unpredictable bass.
Near the end, “The Arkansas Tattler” blends the quick strings with swift banjo, and, later on, a soothing climate of emotion, and “Autopsied Cloudburst” finishes with Stemeseder’s synth tinkering that helps create a mood of mystery and nearly sci-fi exploration.
Seabrook’s vision is always imaginative and atypical, and these selections continue that path with chamber, folk and jazz nods meshed with experimental, noisy, prog tendencies.
Travels well with: Brandon Seabrook- Objects Of Unknown Function; Spinifex- Maxximus