Articles
2011 Top 10s and 20s
Spotlight 4

Albums
Akhet
Cory Allen
Alva Noto
Aun
Bass Communion
Alexander Berne
Birds Passage / Rosado
The Black Dog
BNJMN
Ursula Bogner
Cokiyu
Steve Coleman
Cubenx
Mats Eilertsen
Elektro Guzzi
eleventhfloorrecords
Ben Fleury-Steiner
Golden Gardens
Goldmund
Thom Gossage
Steve Hauschildt
Helvacioglu & Pancaroglu
Illuha
Larkian & Yellow6
Clem Leek
Mamerico
Milyoo
Hedvig Mollestad Trio
Nao
Yann Novak
Sasajima & Hirao
Scissors And Sellotape
Ryan Scott
Till von Sein
Shaula
The Silent Section
Scott Solter
Spheruleus
Talkingmakesnosense
thisquietarmy
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
tINI
Tycho

Newly Issued
The Beach Boys

Compilations / Mixes
Deetron
Mike Huckaby
Radio Slave
Rebel Rave 2: Droog

EPs
Thavius Beck
Niccolò Bianchi
Falko Brocksieper
Alex Cobb & Aquarelle
Deru
Everything Is
Ed Hamilton
Hammock
Herzog
Oknai
SlowPitch
Tracey Thorn
Damian Valles

Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Shoot!
Rune Grammofon

Shoot! is a fabulous debut set of guitar-led jazz-rock from axesmith extraordinaire Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen, bassist Ellen Brekken (acoustic and electric), and drummer Ivar Loe Bjørnstad. In keeping with its direct and unfussy title, the album's nine tunes cut to the chase, moving quickly and effortlessly from metalesque throwdowns to delicate balladry with aplomb. With no song exceeding six minutes and three no longer than three, Shoot! exemplifies an admirable degree of clarity, focus, and concentration in its song-styled pieces. Even more impressive, the album was recorded live, so the trio's tightness is no product of in-studio sleight-of-hand.

An ideal opener, “Gun and the E-Kid” bolts from the gate with a bluesy three-minute take on math-rock that doesn't drown in over-complexity. The trio rips into some wild psychedelia heaviness while also navigating a proggy time signature like it's the easiest thing in the world. “Ashes” then finds the band getting both deliciously funky and earthy in a groove-heavy head-nodder that allows Mollestad to indulge in some raw, Jeff Beck-styled riffing. “For the Air” oozes a stoner rock sensibility in its Sabbath-styled slowcore, and in certain moments threatens to collapse altogether in a mess of noise and howl, while Mollestad's affection for punk and grunge comes through in a suitably heavy cover of Melvins' “Blood Witch.” The group's more lyrical and delicate side comes to the fore during the jazz balladry of “Doom's Lair,” where both Brekken's acoustic playing and Mollestad's textural side get ample room to shine, and during the slow drift of the bluesy closing track, “The Valley.”

Though all of the trio's members impress, Mollestad's stands out as a particularly dynamic player capable of deftly moving from one style to another at light-speed, whether it be heavy riffing or textural nuance. She comes across as someone who, after years of woodshedding and absorbing the work of other guitarists, has developed a voice and attack all her own, even if it bears traces of those precursors. There's nothing tentative about her playing, and the same can be said for the equally assured playing of her band-mates.

December 2011