Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns – Weejuns

Rune Grammofon

For her latest missive from the stratosphere, Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns has gathered two illustrious sonic cosmonauts in the shape of drummer Ole Mofjell and keyboardist Ståle Storløkken. Together they have managed to squeeze six enormous tracks of varying complexity onto this Weejuns album that will leave the listener reeling.

The dynamic between the three players is interesting as each brings very different sensibilities, providing a wide range of textures that have just the right amount of tension. The hollow drum chatter of opener “Go At Your Peril” elides with the daydream guitar sonics while the Hammond makes its interjections like little exclamations of an obtuse point.

The guitar is a runner, its silky metal dipping and diving while the drums never settle, always bubbling. There is a strong spirit of progress, the natty Hammond, full of sly joy, harking back to days of yore but flooded with modern movement. I must say that the drums are a particular thrill; it is a little like watching somebody fell running at full pelt, constantly adjusting their angle, watching for obstacles and surmounting them effortlessly.

They definitely have an eye on the outer reaches and the lengths of the two central tracks lend them perfectly to the sort of slo-mo astral searching that chills the heart. Like an inner space jam rock band, they slip through stratospheres, intercepting primitive communication, drums rolling and tumbling like thunder constantly as the organ and guitar chase one another amongst the detritus of vanishing worlds. Always searching, the guitar is at times obnoxious, growling and sawing, shimmering in distant light as it pushes into a delirious groove full of feedback and mindless repetition.

The edgy, spacey ambience that opens “I’ll Give You Twenty One” contains a little disorder, the elements disrupting one another, clashing cymbals and groaning synths sparse but portentous. It moves through the aeons, slowly gyrating with disparate textures gravitating towards it. You lose yourself as the guitar starts to drift, and the drums when they reawaken are far less structured than any drums have a right to be. It is a serious masterclass that slowly evolves into a wildly jagged psych riff monster barely knowing when to stop.

The long thoughtful intros echo the vastness of space that surrounds us and the trio’s interactions ever fascinate to a point where they stray into post-rock territory for closer “Pity The City”, the insistent circling motifs somehow more down to earth and the trio locking in as one, its warmth echoed by the crying synths, driving to peaks of ecstasy. It is an impressive finale to a work that defies categorisation; just three people intent on showing what guitar, drums and organ can really do. You’ll be glad you stepped into this universe.

-Mr Olivetti-