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Seagull Brain — Seagull Brain
(Bandcamp Punos Music no#, 2023, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2023-12-22

Seagull Brain Cover art

Seagull Brain is an explorative trio that attempts to build a sonic landscape with what might be accomplished with three electric guitars in the hands of masterful players and improvisers. Many will be familiar with some of the other works of these three protagonists: Nick Didkovsky (Doctor Nerve, Chord, Vomit Fist, solo), Chris Cochrane (No Safety, Collapsible Shoulder, Suck Pretty), and Mark Howell (Better Than Death, Zero Pop, Timber, others). The three assembled over two days in June 2023 at a studio / rehearsal space in Brooklyn, and the nine tracks at hand are the result, or at least what the trio wanted to present on their debut release. As one listens, the realization that there are no guard rails in place becomes clear; there are three guitars, but it’s perfectly unclear who is playing what as each piece proceeds. One will hear some wildly experimental ideas, somewhat softer passages, jangly ideas stretched into many forms and figures, some laid back, others bristling with chaotic energy, borderline noise, just growing and evolving at their own sweet pace. Extended techniques abound as the trio makes their way through a barrage of intense machinations. Two things you won’t hear anywhere are overdubs of any kind — everything sounds completely genuine, either improvised or perhaps planned during previous runthroughs, and despite the electric guitar being the basic building block of rock music, nothing herein sounds even remotely typical of that idiom. Most of the pieces are in the three to seven minute range, with a few that are over and done in less than a minute, One can only hope that there is more to come from Seagull Brain in the future, but these nine explorations will do for now.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Nick Didkovsky, Mark Howell, Seagull Brain

More info
http://doctornerve.bandcamp.com/album/seagull-brain

 

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