HEDVIG MOLLESTAD: EKHIDNA

A healthy splash of heavy rock in-between fusion exploration in an excellent album that combines guitar-driven compositions with the avant-garde touch of refined jazz rock, this is 2020's 'Ekhidna' by Norwegian guitar player Hedvig Mollestad, released by her 'Trio'; The album, in fact, features a sextet of players, but the core of the collective is usually Mollestad alongside a bass player and a drummer. This mighty six-track release, however, does not feature a bassist, but a second Fender player, since this is Mollestad's preferred instrument, too, plus a fabulous percussionist, two keyboardists and a trumpet player, all delivering a tremendous performance on this album named after the mother of some of the most horrendous monsters in Greek mythology, and composed as a commission for the 2019 Vossajazz festival.

Not a concept album, this very tight 40-minute near-perfect record blends in effortlessly impressive guitar acrobatics, not some mindless shred-fest, with the complexity and challenging nature of progressive jazz - the end results are more than indicative that this is a very great album from the near-ambient beginnings of the short opener 'No Friends But the Mountains' to the first big introduction to the sound of 'Ekhidna', which is the heavy powerhouse 'A Stone's Throw', followed by the 10-minute frenzy of 'Antilone', full of energy and power, this composition displays the immense talents of each band member in a glorious fashion. The title track is another highlight of the album, very obscure, very unnerving and masterful, it is an enigmatic instrumental that will leave the listener in awe. The tranquil album closer 'One Leaf Left' surprises with the beautiful but bombastic final two minutes - Mollestad is uncompromisingly well-phrased, delivering a grandiose finale to this excellent album.