What Hedvig Mollestad does with her own trio – blending Sabbathian stoner rock grooves with jazzy improvisations – is already impressive, but I was not prepared for the genius of ‘Ekhidna’. While the seventies rock riffs are still everywhere, Mollestad and her five companions dial the jazz factor way up, resulting in one of the greatest guitar fusion albums I have heard in a long time. ‘Ekhidna’ is an exciting album full of amazing musical interaction that sounds like it could have been released fifty years ago. It would still have been worthy competition for the likes of Return To Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Probably the main aspect to set ‘Ekhidna’ apart from the Hedvig Mollestad Trio albums is the instrumentation. Instead of a power trio, ‘Ekhidna’ has been recorded by a six-piece band including two keyboard players, a trumpeter, a percussionist, a drummer and no bassist. This provided Mollestad with a completely different sonic palette than usual to work with. Especially the interactions between Mollestad’s guitar and Susana Santos Silva’s trumpet are characteristic and inspired, although the rhythm section creates interesting textures as well. The compositions and arrangements are often quite dense, almost like the instruments are fighting for their space, but not unlistenably so. Far from it.

If you want to hear that particular style in full force, the best track to start with is easily ‘Antilone’.  The track is built upon a busy, jumpy riff that goes through multiple time signature changes, while drummer Torstein Lofthus holds down the tight groove. ‘A Stone’s Throw’ is the most seventies fusion track of the bunch. The main riff sounds like it could have been on a relatively adventurous hardrock record, had it not been doubled by the electric pianos. The unisono lead guitar and trumpet leads and dynamics are amazing as well. And those who like Mollestad’s bluesy exploits may want to start out with the somewhat Hendrixian title track, though its tail-end is full of abstract improvisations.

Brilliant instrumental records cannot be at full force all the time and fortunately, dynamics are very prominent on ‘Ekhidna’. The short ‘Slightly Lighter’ is just that, with Mollestad’s clean guitar evoking the spirit of Bill Frisell. Closing track ‘One Leaf Left’ is another more subdued track and easily the most jazzy moment on the record, though the haunting atmosphere of the track has more in common with psychedelic rock. It does get a little harder-hitting during its latter half, but nowhere near as borderline aggressive as some of the other tracks.

Like the best fusion albums, ‘Ekhidna’ sounds like a hard rock band playing jazz rather than the other way around. The rhythms are complex and playful, but never forget their task of solidifying the foundation. Hard. That is hardly the only reason why ‘Ekhidna’ is such a great album, however. The compositions are great, the jams are inspired and sonically, it creates a world that is hard to escape if you’re into relaitvely heavy fusion or relatively adventurous hardrock. It’s easy to understand why Mollestad chose not to release this with her usual trio, but the spirit is equal. One of the greatest releases of the year so far.

Recommended tracks: ‘Antilone’, ‘A Stone’s Throw’, ‘Ekhidna’