SMELLS FUNNY

A really strong album from these Norwegians but a short one at under 36 minutes. Hedvig really shows her stuff on here in a multitude of ways from the song writing to the various styles of music she covers. It's pretty cool when Hendrix, Sharrock, Santana, Page and Rypdal come to mind. This lady can play but then so can Ellen on bass, man she can groove but like Hedvig she can do it all. Ivar on drums sounds like a Rock drummer more than a Jazz drummer and this is a band who crosses into both of these styles although I would call this more of a Rock album. Ivar is a maniac.

Over the six tracks we get some variety but it's all good. Probably my least favourite would be "Jurasek" which is fairly mellow with some relaxed Santana-like guitar. I've grown to appreciate this one. I'm not big on the heavy riffing to open and close "Bewitched, Dwarfed And Defeathered" but man the majority of the rest of this song makes up for it. We get jazzy stuff and some dissonant guitar which is cool then she lights it up. "First Thing To Pop Is The Eye" has a Page-like section to start which actually reminds me more of Lifeson on RUSH's debut. The rest is gravy with those intricate leads then atmospheric sounds all the while the bass and drums drive this along relentlessly. The guitar is crying then at 4 1/2 minutes we get some echo, love this. Check out the bass and guitar a minute later. She's lighting it up before 6 minutes.

The opener "Beastie, Beastie" is another highlight and a song I've played a lot. Powerful yet restrained. We get some hit and runs solos as well as a steady run of playing. Just love the sound of it. "Sugar Rush Mountain" is a ride at a high speed down that mountain. I like that drum intro and then they are off! The drums really stand out on this one. The closer "Lucidness" is my favourite. Experimental to begin as the guitar starts to cry out. Soon the guitar is reminding me of Rypdal as the bass and drums continue to remain experimental. Intense is the word. The guitar is crying out again after 4 minutes. So good. Check out that repetitive guitar melody beginning around 5 1/2 minutes and it continues for about a minute. How powerful is this after 7 1/2 minutes. Come on!

Easily 4 stars and one of those albums where there is a high appreciation for the way each member plays on this all instrumental album.