Helvig Mollestad Weejuns — Bitches Blues

Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen is a songwriter/musician hailing from Ålesund, Norway, and the leader of both the Hedvig Mollestad Trio and the Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns. Weejuns are a trio named after a slang word for Norwegians, featuring Hedvig Mollestad on guitar, Ståle Storløkken on organ and synth and drummer, Ole Mofjell. The band released their debut self-titled album in 2023, which was unusual in that it was a live album; however, it was a powerful way to announce themselves to the world. Bitches Blues is the follow-up to that album and is the band’s first studio album.

The album consists of six fairly lengthy instrumental tracks and runs at 38 minutes long. The album opens with the title track,” Bitches Blues” a glitchy, noisy avant-garde jazz number that immediately throws the listener into the deep end. It sounds pretty heavy, with outstanding heavy jazz drumming from Mofjell and some really cool glitchy organ sounds from Storløkken, all perfectly complemented by Mollestad’s scratchy distorted guitar work, it’s a great way to open the album. Next up is “Komplet Blir”, and after an atmospheric synth opening, the organ kicks in, followed Mofjell’s drums, which still sound pretty heavy but feel a lot more subdued than on the previous track. Overall, it is a much more relaxed song, and when Mollestad joins in, her guitar lines are less frantic and carry far more emotive feel to them. “For A Moment I Thought I Could Hear You” follows in a similar vein, however, it opens with a duelling guitar/ organ that has a pretty sinister vibe. I am somewhat reminded of the off-kilter music in Alice Cooper’s Years Ago. There is no percussion until around the midpoint, where Mofjell introduces some cymbals. Storløkken’s organ takes centre stage for most of this song, it operates as the lead instrument, spiralling at times, but it always returns to the basis of what the music is about.

“Limite” is up next and feels very much like the score to an avant-garde horror movie. It’s dark, and the instruments twist and turn and give the whole thing an unsettling feeling before slowly fading back to something far more chilled out towards the end. “Dynamax” sounds very much like it comes from that same horror movie score. It’s sinister and spooky, and while it doesn’t have the same intensity at first, it soon bursts into life. Around the midpoint, a riff that reminds me of King Crimson and Tool at the same time kicks in, and the whole thing is transformed into some sort of heavy jazz / prog metal masterpiece that simply blows me away with its heavy intensity and Mollestad’s tortured guitar work. This is absolutely glorious stuff! The album closer is “Recollection of Sorrow”, which starts out as a more traditional-sounding modern jazz track which builds and builds before trailing away towards the end into something more reflective, with a hint of menace about. A little bit like when a horror movie threatens to drag you back into the madness with music that has a hint of what has gone before, but it is ultimately less intense and terrifying.

Overall, this is a brilliant album from Mollestad and her band, a really astounding record that draws influence from jazz, progressive rock and horror movie scores, but does it all its own way. The musicianship is exceptional across the board, with Mollestad’s guitar tone- nasty when it needs to be and sweet when required- Mofjell’s powerful, pummeling drums and Storløkken’s heavy, scratchy, distorted organ and sometimes sweet synths creating something so unique yet familiar.

The CD from Rune Grammofon looks great too; it has a rather lovely fold-out digipak that works to help create more interest in the album before you even pick it up to listen. This is a beautifully packaged masterpiece of avant-garde, progressive jazz post-rock that I would recommend to anyone who loves any of those genres or the artists mentioned in this review. Give it a spin and lose yourself in the darkness.