RCD2157 Reviews
Building upon the grungy bluster of 2013's "All Of Them Witches", the third album by this talented Norwegian team displays an increasing depth. Taking the totemic force of the rock power trio, Mollestad presides over an irresistible mix of jam-band alacrity and methodical rigor. Her snarling zig-zagging guitar runs are laced with with a spectral afterglow that crackles and glows with a tangible energy in a group sound that's saturated and raucous, eagerly embracing a boundary-leaping philosophy - if it works, they use it ... Though Mollestad understandably does most of the melodic heavy-lifting, what comes across more than anything on "Enfant Terrible" is how trust and mutual support can lead to a product much bigger than the sum of its parts.
Prog (UK)
I was a big fan of this Norwegian band's combination of Melvins-style grooves, shredding, and jazz on the 2011 debut Shoot !, and this follow-up to last year's All of Them Witches is their best effort yet, thanks in large part to a dirtier tone and slightly more aggressive approach. While technical death metal bands elicit the “jazzy”, this is one album that truly understands that aspect of music, feeling meditative and experimental, rocking out all the while.
Decibel Magazine (US)
The low-down blues-rock power-crawl of opening track "Laughing John" carries all the sweaty swagger of classic Led Zeppelin, while the plodding riffage of tracks like "La Boule Noire" aims for the moody doom-mongering of prime Black Sabbath . That said, Mollestad's more than just a rock-metal fret-witch: her solos display a sensitivity for the less obvious possibilities of the electric guitar, with whammy bar swoops and high, glacial whinnies that nudge up against the high-impact techniques pursued by Finnish-American guitarist Raoul Björkenheim.
Jazzwise (UK)
Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen rootles through the iconic moves of Page and Iommi and steals them for her own. The trio move into dissonant helixes of jazz when the idol emulation gets too sickly, as Thomassen´s head fills up with rock star bombast and then empties into transcendece. Guitar solos weave and arc out of pure meditative reflex; she splays over the rhythm section with compellingly acute awareness of each emphatic arc and syncopated dip, adapting the shape of her riffs and improvisation accordingly.
Rock-a-Rolla (UK)
The artist looks grimly on the record cover as if her cat had just been run over. The guitar riffs that the young Norwegian, supported by drums and bass, offer on her new album sound correspondingly gruff. The ten infernal instrumental melodies are reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and are brutally loud.
KulturSpiegel (DE)
She counts The Melvins, Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis among her influences, and you can hear that too. The Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad is a thoroughbred musician who moves in the waters of styles such as rock jazz, metal, grunge and rock. As on the two previous albums ("Shoot" and "All Of Them Witches"), bass player Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjornstad are also on board again. The six titles are composed by them, individually or in pairs. It is striking that the new titles don't all roar with a howl, but that there is also space for "quieter" titles, such as "Liquid Bridges", which is almost idyllic for Mollestad. Of course, the dirt guitar still predominates, the massive, dull bass and the hard pulsing drum beat, but the pieces have gotten longer. You leave room for excursions that always take a surprising turn. The three have no doubt become an impregnable fortress. You can really hear the years of jamming in the practice cellar, you can even smell the sweat in it. Don't be fooled by Hedvig's innocent black and white portrait on the cover. The lady is still a tough "enfant terrible". Don't be fooled by Hedvig's innocent black and white portrait on the cover. The lady is still a tough "enfant terrible". Don't be fooled by Hedvig's innocent black and white portrait on the cover. The lady is still a tough "enfant terrible".
Jazz´N´More (DE)
Hedvig Mollestad understood what Toni Iommi or Jimmy Page on the one hand and John McLaughlin or Carlos Santana on the other hand celebrated on the guitar. Accordingly, the young Norwegian mixes heavy rock with jazz rock on “Enfant Terrible”, the third album of her trio. It cannot be seen whether the six tracks (with a playing time of 35 minutes) are improvised or constructed down to the smallest detail. Both corresponding characteristics can be found here. The violent riffs and rich grooves are so difficult that they always have something jazzy about them and are almost like math rock. Together with a bass player and a drummer, Mollestad recorded “Enfant Terrible” live in the studio. “Laughing John” is a permanent guitar solo, while the trio in “Arigato, Bitch ”does not shy away from a bass solo in order to let it really crack. But it can also be a bit calmer like in “Liquid Bridges” and Pity The Children ”. Hedvig Mollestad is less an enfant terrible than a child prodigy. 7/10.
Eclipsed (DE)
Norwegian Hedvig Mollestad also knows little restraint when it comes to making her six strings glow. On her album "Enfant Terrible" (rune gramophone / cargo) she seamlessly connects to the reef-heavy freerock of the two previous CDs. Killer instinct and poetry once again form a seductive pairing.
Jazzthing (DE)
The best way to listen to the Hedvig Mollestad Trio's new album is to wait until the neighbors shop or even go on vacation, put the disc in the CD player and turn it up. Brachial sounds with the opener "Laughing John" on "Enfant Terrible!" contrary to what does not fit with the otherwise often reserved Nordic jazz: the electric guitar of the Norwegian from Ålesund, distorted to the limit, the driving bass from Ellen Brekken and the drums by the songs, sometimes also pounding, by Ivar Loe Bjørnstad . The trio effortlessly changes from head-banging hard rock to fine jazz melodies that bubble out of the boxes like a just opened cider from the Hardangerfjord, then swings up with "Rastapopoulus" to wild improvisations and then in "La Boule Noire" to be caught again. After listening to the last piece at the latest, you understand the name of the terribly beautiful album.
Nordis (DE)
Rock, grunge, heavy metal, underground rock, these terms only buzz around in your head when you listen to the hard staccato and riffy guitar cascades of the Hedvig Mollestad Trio. Above all because it is so useless to use the usual suspects of the music world as a comparison again and again. Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen had already fallen in love with the music of her father's rock albums as a child and when she was given an electric guitar and an amplifier for confirmation, her life's path was marked. On "Enfant Terrible", their third album on Rune Grammofon, Mollestad and their triops Loe Bjørnstad, dr, and Ellen Brekken, b, together create an expressionist world full of heavy metal sound storms and contra-rhythmic melodic digression, that is unparalleled. "Enfant Terrible" operates as a joint effort, but Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen clearly forms the head of this experimental band that sets standards. Let's call it prog metal or heavy jazz - or better, let's invent a new term for it.
Jazzpodium (DE)
The cover image of a staid blonde deliberately misleads. In view of the good black and white photography of Hedvig Mollestad, born in 1982 in the Norwegian tourist town of Ålesund on the European North Sea, no one will and should suspect one of the leading metal guitars in Scandinavia. With the first sound the picture falls out of the frame. One of them studied heroes from Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi and of course Jimi Hendrix to John McLaughlin from the Mahavishnu years and does not take prisoners when updating the blessed heroes. In the well-rehearsed trio she plays her instrument in front of bass guitar and booming drums. She does not reinvent the wheel, but lets it roll rock 'n' wordlessly in a refreshingly powerful and entertaining way.
Leipziger Volkszeitung (DE)
In the best tradition of Hendrix, Page, McLaughlin and other heavy guitar players, Mollestad and her mates excel in controlled madness. Mollestad comes from the Norwegian town of Ålesund where she was born in the early 80s. The record collection of her father directed her toward 70s jazz and rock. This music still is her main point of reference. 'Enfant Terrible' is further prove this. Her third album with the trio, preceded by 'Shoot' and 'All of them Witches', both excellent albums. They are into instrumental heavy rock music, played very direct and on the edge. It is difficult to escape from this intense music, except at some moments where I thought 'I know all this, why again', or 'I wish the drummer would do some more surprising to intensify the whole'. How heavy and brutal the music may be, it keeps you more in the comfort zone then that it challenges you, as they do not break with any of the rules of the genre. Together with other bands on Rune Grammofon, like Bushman's Revenge, Grand General or Elephant9, the trio represents a strong turn to progressive and heavy music from the 70s to be observed in the Norwegian scene of today.
Vital Weekly (NE)
Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen har forstått hva en elektrisk gitar kan fortelle dersom man for the til å snakke. The unnorsque guitarist anvender et språk som communiser med råbarkede tradisjoner og seig materie, og hun gjør det med finesse som he interesting. Trio Mollestad spiller instrumental music, uten at lengselen etter vocalist melder seg. The combiner de helt enkle og fengende grepene med avansert spill, men tipper aldri over i poengløs dyktighet. All the på denne combinationasjonen av tradisjonsbevissthet og frigjøring og mener Hedvig Mollestad Trio har modnet i løpet av tre album. Hedvig Mollestad Trio tar arven på alvor og forvalter den med fornyelsens Kraft. 5/6.
Aftenposten (NO)
Jazz trio gjør alt det god rock bør gjøre, men ofte ikke clearer. Særegene rytmemønstre skaper et herlig driv; Mollestad Thomassen går often for overrasking progresjoner, og tidvis låter det som om det holder på å briste for bandet. Men bare nok til at man for hjwert i neck. Noe av det vanskeligste en gitarist kan gjøre, he å lage doomriff á la Black Sabbaths sjangerdefinerende dommedagsblues. Riff som både rommer like mye stemning og velvetidig like friske som det nevnte bands guitarist Tony Iommi gjorde på 70-tallet. Mange har forsøkt. The remainder comes along with the arm and behold. Mollestad Thomassens riff derimot så solide at de tviholder på oppmerksomheten. I combine it with the energy and potential of the "Enfant Terrible" and the candidate for the norsque plate. 5/6.
Bergens Tidende (NO)
Tredje album fra en av våre tøffeste gitarister, i et etterhvert temmelig folksomt landskap consisting of band som har valgt blues / prog / tungrock som del av sitt frie, utadvendte "jazz" -uttrykk. Nå må vi finelig ikke glemme Mollestads band, som består av Ellen Brekken på bass og Ivar Loe Bjørnstad på trommer. Det høres kanskje ikke mye ut, men denne powertrioen har mer enn nok Kraft mellom hendene. "Enfant Terrible" viser et band som etter uttrakt turnering har smeltet together til et overbevisende beist.
Dagens Næringsliv (NO)
Nå er Mollestad og hennes trio existå henne selv på gitar, Ivar Loe Bjørnstad på trommer og Ellen Brekken på bass tilbake med sin tredje utgivelse. Mollestad er selv utdannet jazzgitarist ved Norges musikkhøgskole, men utover det faktum at plata er preget av mye improvisasjon og at Mollestad er vanvittig teknisk dyktig, står «Enfant Terrible» definitely planted med begge near China Rockeland. "Enfant terrible" åpner med låten "Laughing John". Den er et lekent spor med særdeles groovy materiale som skiller seg ut fra det mer blytunge materialet som ellers preger brorparten av skiva. If it were all effective and effective in Mollestads musikalske univers, med mye fuzz and skarpe riff som complementes av en melodisk og musiserende basslinje servert av Ellen Brekken. På det påfølgend sporet «Arrigato, bitch »legger Mollestad formidlingslista hakket høyere. Låten åpner hult og deilig med klassiske heavy-trommer og et gitarriff som sakte, men sikkert ispes flere og flere musikalske vendinger som tar sporet fra sitt enkle starting point og over i et vanvittig drøyt improvisasjonsparti tre minutter ut. En gitarsolo for the virtuoso level of dukker også opp for stoner-låten «La boule noire». "Pity the children" for the avenue of tone tempo and stemning ned igjen and Runde av et ellers ganske så utfordrende instrumental album. He ikke alltid like lett å formidle gjennom instrumental music. Ingen text can be found at the fort hva du føler. "Enfant Terrible" oppleves allikevel som et inderlig album. Plata framstår også som langt mer inspirert og umiddelbar enn sin forgjenger "All Of Them Witches". The vanskelig å holde på the types intensifies Mollestad skaper gjennom et helt album og at «Enfant Terrible» ikke er blitt lenger enn sine 35 minutter er et godt grep fra trioens side. This tredjealbum he et progressivt musikalsk product som griper. 5/6.
Dagsavisen (NO)