FEATURED ALBUM: Hedvig Mollestad Trio - Smells Funny

[Poisoned Youth]

Now here's a kick-ass guitar trio you may or may not have heard yet. Her style is a little hard to pin down, but she effortlessly plays a blend of rock, jazz, swing, blues, free music with both chops and energy. Smells Funny is her trio's most recent release off Rune Grammofon.





Review from Boomkat

With "Smells Funny" being their sixth album in seven years, this explosive and expansive trio have gone from strength to strength, gathering respect from both rock and jazz camps.

"Although there is enough riffing here to satisfy the headbangers, with "Smells Funny" the trio are venturing into the more free and open landscapes explored on their previous album, "Black Stabat Mater". This new album also sees Mollestad truly coming into her own as an amazing lead guitarist as well as a dependable riffmeister. But let´s not forget how important the rhythm section is to make it all work so well. Ellen Brekken is an accomplished bassist, equally comfortabel holding down a groove and taking off on technically complex runs.

Then there´s Ivar Loe Bjørnstad, not your typical rock drummer, not your typical jazz drummer, but very comfortable in both areas and in possession of that loose swagger Nate Chinen mentions in his writing about "Black Stabat Mater in JazzTimes, and thus in many ways defining their common ethos: Her trio, which has Ellen Brekken on bass and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad on drums, caught my ear then with its audacious style references: the loose swagger of early Black Sabbath; the density and prowl of peak Led Zeppelin; the expeditionary urge of Jimi Hendrix; the incantatory fervor of John McLaughlin."

Not many videos yet, but here's a great live performance. It's a full stream of a concert from them and Mats Gustafsson's FIRE (also worth your attention). If you go to about 1hr 25min, the Mollestad concert begins.

[Bake 1]

Love the first two releases, need to get the others. Imo they somehow manage to successfully mine areas that can often seem played out. Great feel, hope they'll someday tour the US.

[Scrotum Scissor]

One of the greatest live units in Norway, and her studio albums are solid-to-excellent as well.

Style? I suppose this is what was once referred to as "free rock", championed by underground acts interzoned between guitar-based jazz, psychedelic and vintage progressive. Hendrix, Sharrock, J. 'Blood' Ulmer, Kaiser, Fahey, O'Rourke - these all influenced her to some extent in one way or another.

[Steve F.]

Looking forward to it, but it isn’t out in the USA for another couple of weeks. I haven’t been able to hear it yet.

All her previous releases are SERIOUS winners in this abode.

[Mascodagama]

I thought Black Sabat Mater was a blast. So need to hear this for sure.

[Conti]

Saw them opening for John McLaughlin at the Royal Festival Hall, London, in 2014, and was completely blown away. Terrific performance, great musicality and sheer energy. I actually enjoyed them more than Johnny Mac that evening (not that his gig was any bad, anyway - on the contrary), which is amazing given that it was my first contact with their music. I still have to listen to their albums. Any recommended starting point?

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ Conti, I'd easily recommend Enfant Terrible for starters. It isn't necessarily better than her first two (Shoot and All of them Witches), but the songs are longer, looser, freer and a token to her maturing expression. It was the first of her studio releases to truly capture her direct live feel.

[Conti]

^ Conti, I'd easily recommend Enfant Terrible for starters. It isn't necessarily better than her first two (Shoot and All of them Witches), but the songs are longer, looser, freer and a token to her maturing expression. It was the first of her studio releases to truly capture her direct live feel.

Thanks, Richard.

I will definitely check it out.

Alberto

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Looking forward to it, but it isn’t out in the USA for another couple of weeks. I haven’t been able to hear it yet.

.

I was just going to ask...haven't seen this available anywhere yet despite being released last year now.


Their previous was easily their best so I'm excited to hear this one

[TCC]

Good call & essential music!
- LOVE HM3!. -

- Big Dipper (Record Store)
https://youtu.be/eUrPS7Mlt4c

- Parkteatret - Oslo:
“The New Judas.”
https://youtu.be/YiIxltR4eV0

- Taktlos - 2017 (1 hour live)
https://youtu.be/zsxcMdtO_lw

"Outgoing & progressive instrumental rock". ... and agree w/Richard’s description too!.

n.p.: Shoot!


Regards!.

[Crawford Glissadevil]

Not familiar with this one. I'll check it out.

[Thomas]

I am happy to join the list of people praising Hedvig Mollestad Trio. I consider myself lucky to have seen the band on several occasions and recommend catching this fierce group live even if it means really making an effort. What also needs to be said is that this is a trio who have merged really well, having spent a lot of time playing together. Intense, creative, dynamic and fun. Really great on record, but even better live!

[Benedict]

Big & sprawling but lively enough. Could at times perhaps use a bit more structure but overall interesting and could use more listens.

Reminds me some of Stoned Karma

:-)

[Dana5140]

Love this band, love every thing about them. And for one great live show, check out below (Ellen had a previous commitment, so is missing).

[Trane]

I've had problems understanding why RYM classify her music as jazz-rock or jazz-fusion, when she's clearly retro-stoner-psych-proto rock: I mean there are a few hints of jazz (notably in the gig with Fire!), and she's on Rune Grammofon, but that is definitely not enough to qualify in that genre, IMHO

BTW, someone should invite her to rethink of the album sleeve as a tool to attract potential buyers. She's in the last tiers of boring sleeves.

=============

This chick is quite gifted, though not a groundbreaker.

[Steve F.]

I've had problems understanding why RYM classify her music as jazz-rock or jazz-fusion, when she's clearly retro-stoner-psych-proto rock

I disagree with this as something that's 'clearly' anything, as her musical vocabulary is much greater than 'stoner-psych'; I think that that's why she is considered a electric jazzer. The double bass, when she uses it, helps put it there too. IMO.

[Dana5140]

I wonder why people always feel a need to classify, because what difference does it make? Where do you classify Terje Rypdal, since that is who I find is the closest reference to what she does? And have we atomized classification enough, Trane? "...retro-stoner-psych-proto rock."

[NogbadTheBad]

Clearly one for me to check out.

[TCC]

Love this band, love every thing about them. And for one great live show, check out below (Ellen had a previous commitment, so is missing).

Nice!
Thanks!

[Trane]

I wonder why people always feel a need to classify, because what difference does it make? Where do you classify Terje Rypdal, since that is who I find is the closest reference to what she does? And have we atomized classification enough, Trane? "...retro-stoner-psych-proto rock."

it was much more a critic towards RYM's genre system rather than me pigeonholing her into that pseudo but very wide and vague s throwing in her direction

PA's got them in their db as "Heavy Prog" - which is also a weird category, but it fits better what I hear from her music (again, excluding the Fire! gig).

[Dana5140]

Understood. I still do wonder why there is such a need to classify music, and to atomize it is down to granular levels. I classify music as "enjoyable" or "not enjoyable." :-)

[Rick L.]

My category's dad can beat up your category's dad.

[mogrooves]

I still do wonder why there is such a need to classify music...

Apparently from their website, the band classifies their own music as "outgoing & progressive instrumental rock," which literally sounds about right to me. As to why classify at all, not including the word "jazz" in their self-classification may be less about genre than economics; jazz doesn't sell.

As for consumers, genre labels--though sometimes problematic--do have utility; if I purchased one of their CDs having been told it's jazz, rather than "outgoing & progressive instrumental rock," I'd feel misinformed.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I've had problems understanding why RYM classify her music as jazz-rock or jazz-fusion, when she's clearly retro-stoner-psych-proto rock: I mean there are a few hints of jazz (notably in the gig with Fire!), and she's on Rune Grammofon, but that is definitely not enough to qualify in that genre, IMHO

BTW, someone should invite her to rethink of the album sleeve as a tool to attract potential buyers. She's in the last tiers of boring sleeves.

Here's the reason: she was educated as a jazz-guitarist at Norges Musikkhøgskole, one of two Norwegian music academies specifically dedicated to various types of modern electric art of tone (the other being the so-called "jazzlinja" in Trondheim). Here in Norway, this used to be a calling card for frequent commissions as studio musician, touring musician with big ensembles or programmes, institutional musician (for instance with the National Braodcasting Service's Orchestra), musician in theatres, circuses etc. But nowadays it's mostly a gateway for numerous names within the internationally profiled scene of "New Norwegian creativity" to which Mollestad belongs. She also plays with several jazz combos (like Trondheim Jazzorkester).

In other words, she more than "qualifies".

And her sleeves aren't boring. They follow the conceptual visual framework of the RG label, in which cover art is carefully selected in accordance with given criteria set through correspondance between the musical artist and the label's artistic design manager. This standard was practically scrutinized with those early Supersilent releases, and they fit the mode of RG's quasi-minimal art approach rather perfectly.

I keep thinking of how hard Mani Neumeier had to struggle in order to overcome his "jazz" tag from the early 60s. And still today that ol' timer can sit in with Brüninghaus or Doldinger!

[Mascodagama]

Understood. I still do wonder why there is such a need to classify music, and to atomize it is down to granular levels. I classify music as "enjoyable" or "not enjoyable." :-)

You guys who like enjoyable music are the whole problem. Don't you realise this is about making lists??