Stian Westerhus & Pale Horse: Maelstrom

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Erland Dahlen (d, pero, dulcimer, v)
Øystein Moen (syn, clay, Hammond org)
Stian Westerhus (g)

Label:

Rune Grammofon

June/2014

Catalogue Number:

RCD 2156

RecordDate:

date not stated

Ever since I first saw him attempting to destroy the Vortex (and his amp) with tidal waves of feedback while onstage with Fraud, it's been clear that Stian Westerhus is an unusual, unpredictable and unusually powerful voice in European jazz. The Norwegian guitarist's subsequent work, with Jaga Jazzist, Sidsel Endresen and Nils Petter Molvær among others, as well as a strong 2010 solo album, has consolidated his position. Listening to the opening track of Maelstrom, though, I find myself reaching over to check I'm playing the right disc. Who knew that the avant-garde guitarist actually wanted to sound like an amalgam of Radiohead, Muse, Jeff Buckley, Sigur Rós and The Blue Nile all along? Yes, there are instrumental skronk-out sections, during which, if televised, the camera would zoom in on a long-suffering fretboard. But although hardly chart-friendly, the material is surprisingly song-based: more than anything, Maelstrom is a showcase for Westerhus the rock vocalist. It's nice to know that he can do it, and do it fairly well. But for all its anthemic surge, the album is curiously unmoving.

Follow us

Jazzwise Print

  • Latest print issues

From £5.83 / month

Subscribe

Jazzwise Digital Club

  • Latest digital issues
  • Digital archive since 1997
  • Download tracks from bonus compilation albums during the year
  • Reviews Database access

From £7.42 / month

Subscribe

Subscribe from only £5.83

Never miss an issue of the UK's biggest selling jazz magazine.

Subscribe

View the Current
Issue

Take a peek inside the latest issue of Jazzwise magazine.

Find out more