Hellbent Daydream by Brandon Seabrook

For fans of Dave Brubeck, Soft Machine, Eric Dolphy, chamber pop, and that delirious state between awake and asleep which you feel during a red eye flight in a middle seat, Hellbent Daydream by Brandon Seabrook experiences the harsh clash between subjectivity and objectivity through a unique take on free jazz. Anchored on an almost neoclassical west coast jazz piano, these songs dramatically drop a handful of instruments into the mix to abruptly scale tension up and down. Pulling in additional influence from classical music, a string combo adds to the smooth aesthetic through their tragic, yearning tones, a sound which when paired with that west coast piano immerses us in a melancholic subjectivity. However, a chaotic barrage of guitars, banjos, and synths sends other moments into an anxious tailspin, exposing the most destructive type of perspective which converts the outside world into threats to be avoided. Meanwhile, a more objective approach yields a more minimal atmosphere, containing only the hints of the thoughts which our minds spin up into great catastrophes which ruin our subconscious.