Norwegian guitar hero Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen assembled her fusion super-trio Weejuns (a slang abbreviation of Norwegians) – with Ståle Storløkken (of Supersilent, Elephant9, and Terje Rypdal bands) on organ and synth, and drummer Ole Mofjell (of Emmeluth’s Amoeba and Big YES!) – for the Kongsberg Jazz Festival. The deep, collective interplay and the success of the self-titled album (Rune Grammofon, 2023) led to the trio’s sophomore studio album, Bitches Blues, a word play on Miles Davis iconic fusion album Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970), a strong influence on Molllestad and Weejuns.

Bitches Blues offers six pieces that deepen Weejuns’ immediate and profound interplay and loose, picturesque structures, cementing its unpredictable sensation of weightlessness where the concept of time is disrupted. The album feels more improvised and is less obsessed with Mollestad’s killer riffs. The opening title piece cements the strong-minded, individual voices of Mollestad, Storløkken, and Mofjell improvising collectively, as well as the trio’s powerful, rhythmic drive, and the trio is not shy of diving into uncharted, psychedelic territories to the point of distorted chaos. But Weejuns’ aesthetics are much more varied, and the following, «Kompet Blir», takes Rypdal’s atmospheric texture to a funky ride.

«For a moment I thought I could hear you» is a surprising, delicate, openly emotional, and melancholic ballad. «Limite» corresponds again with Rypdal’s monumental guitar sound. «Dynmax» finally unleashes Mollestad’s heavy, prog-rock riffs and John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu-like acrobatic solos, embraced by Storløkken’s psychedelic organ sound and Mofjell’s manic drumming. The album closes with another moving, lyrical ballad, «Recollection of sorrow», which, again, underscores Weejuns’ timeless, rich, and layered sound and vision, and, as Mollestad puts it, «is all about interplay».

Eyal Hareuveni    

Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen (guitar), Ståle Storløkken (organ, synthesizer), Ole Mofjell (drums)