The music of New York City-based guitarist and banjoist Brandon Seabrook fuses a wide range of practices and traditions, including punk rock, jazz, pop, and metal. Known for pushing his music past the far reaches of the extreme, Seabrook revels in abrasive textures, paint-peeling virtuosity, and angularity so severe as to draw blood. But brutalovechamp, the new release by his expansive octet Epic Proportions, is a different beast entirely. No less bold or bracing than his more confrontational work, the album trades the corrosive for the lyrical, venturing into areas of beauty and deeply personal emotion with the same intrepid spirit of exploration that Seabrook’s music has always thrived upon. The unique star-studded ensemble features percussionist and vocalist Nava Dunkelman, cellist Marika Hughes, bassists Eivind Opsvik and Henry Fraser, electronic musician and vocalist Chuck Bettis, John McCowen on clarinets and recorders, and Sam Ospovat on drums, vibraphone and percussion.

The music of New York City-based guitarist and banjoist Brandon Seabrook fuses a wide range of practices and traditions, including punk rock, jazz, pop, and metal. Known for pushing his music past the far reaches of the extreme, Seabrook revels in abrasive textures, paint-peeling virtuosity, and angularity so severe as to draw blood. But brutalovechamp, the new release by his expansive octet Epic Proportions, is a different beast entirely. No less bold or bracing than his more confrontational work, the album trades the corrosive for the lyrical, venturing into areas of beauty and deeply personal emotion with the same intrepid spirit of exploration that Seabrook’s music has always thrived upon. The unique star-studded ensemble features percussionist and vocalist Nava Dunkelman, cellist Marika Hughes, bassists Eivind Opsvik and Henry Fraser, electronic musician and vocalist Chuck Bettis, John McCowen on clarinets and recorders, and Sam Ospovat on drums, vibraphone and percussion.