Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on December 13, 2025
Inventive guitarist, banjoist, and composer Brandon Seabrook explores dream logic and surreal storytelling on his mesmerizing new album Hellbent Daydream, out February 20, 2026 via Pyroclastic Records.
The album marks the debut of Seabrook’s new quartet with pianist/synth player Elias Stemeseder, bassist Henry Fraser, and violinist Erica Dicker.
Praised for his “serious chops, manic intensity and left-field compositional vision” (Hank Shteamer, Rolling Stone) and as “a resident chaos architect within the Brooklyn avant-garde scene” (Ryan Reed, Premier Guitar), Seabrook once again pushes into bold new terrain.
Hellbent Daydream embraces contradiction from the start—its title pairing ferocity with whimsy—and the music lives in that tension. Visceral and fantastical elements collide in Seabrook’s mercurial compositions, a natural evolution from his previous Pyroclastic releases: the 2023 octet album brutalovechamp and his 2024 solo work Object of Unknown Function.
The new quartet expands a trio Seabrook has led with Fraser and Dicker for several years. “Henry and Erica blend so well, and after a run of gigs together we realized we shared this incredible chemistry,” Seabrook says. Adding Stemeseder’s piano and synth “made the music more cinematic and opened up the emotional landscape.”
This unusual instrumentation encourages a swirl of influences: Stephen Sondheim’s dark theatricality, the harmonic richness of late-era Beach Boys, Chopinesque romanticism, and the rustic edge of Appalachian folk. That American hue is most evident on “The Arkansas Tattler,” a mischievous riff on the classic tune “The Arkansas Traveler.” Seabrook’s heavy-metal approach to banjo also resurfaces, erupting at the peak of pieces like the dreamy danse macabre “Name Dropping is the Lowest Form of Communication” and the charged “Existential Banger Infinite Calling.”
Dream imagery threads through the album, guiding its nonlinear emotional logic. “Human beings are creatures of story,” Seabrook says. “I’m always searching for new ways to bring listeners along. I wanted this album to dwell in a dream-state—still subversive, but more inviting.”
About Brandon Seabrook
Brandon Seabrook is a NYC-based guitarist and banjoist whose work fuses punk, jazz, pop, metal, and free improvisation. His signature sound centers on rapid tremolo picking, contorted clusters, and extreme physicality. He has released eleven albums of original music and performed at major festivals including Big Ears, Jazz em Agosto, Moers Festival, Angel City Jazz Festival, and more. Seabrook has collaborated with Joey Arias, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Anthony Braxton, David Byrne, Mike Watt, Ghost Train Orchestra, Ingrid Laubrock, and many others.
brandonseabrook.com
About Pyroclastic Records
Founded in 2016 by pianist-composer Kris Davis, Pyroclastic Records supports artists pushing beyond conventional genre boundaries while building a vibrant creative community. The label frequently collaborates with renowned visual artists and continues to expand its forward-thinking catalog with upcoming releases from Trio of Bloom, Patricia Brennan, Brandon Seabrook, Kris Davis with the Lutosławski Quartet, Simon Hanes’ GARGANTUA, and Yvonne Rogers’ debut solo piano album.
Album Details
Brandon Seabrook – Hellbent Daydream
Pyroclastic Records – PR 45
Recorded September 2024
Release Date: February 20, 2026
