Recording of the Week, Andrés Thor, 'Hereby'

Over the course of the last two decades, Icelandic electric guitarist Andrés Thor has slowly carved himself a reputation as one of the island nation’s finest jazz guitarists. Andrés began playing music as a teenager whilst living in a small harbour town on the outskirts of Reykjavík. Though like many young guitar players it was classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and of course The Jimi Hendrix Experience that first sparked his love of the instrument, once Andrés discovered the likes of John Coltrane and Pat Metheny later in his teenage years his sights were set firmly on jazz.

It wasn’t until moving to mainland Europe – the Netherlands, to be precise – that he’d start his recording career, with a co-led record with Dutch organist Bob Wijnen, although nowadays Andrés travels back-and-forth between his home country and both Europe and the US for session work. Some of his more recent musical exploits include last year’s In Orbit, released with the Norwegian-Icelandic group ASTRA Quartet, and while ASTRA perhaps dials into that more cinematically-inclined ‘Nordic’ sound a little more, Andrés’ own music embraces more of his blues rock-influenced guitaristic tendencies, as well as naturally bringing his own playing to the forefront.

The Metheny influence rings especially true on his new album, given the American guitarists’ thoroughly-explored penchant for the format, and on Hereby Andrés is found in a guitar trio with bassist Nico Moreaux and drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, both newcomers to his band. The trio craft a kind of late-night blues bar swing on ‘The Man Who Came to Play’, with Magnús and Nico a rock solid rhythm foundation that never over-plays the bandleader – but if you’re listening out for it, there’s some real gold in their performances too.

It’s Magnús’ careful brushwork on more laid-back tracks like ‘Teabreeze’ and ‘Summer Night’ that add that essential texture to the tunes, with Andrés employing a Scofield-ian twang in his playing with smooth, flexible lead lines. Magnús also gets his shot at a bolder drum solo and tight interplay with Andrés on the fusion-edged ‘Whisper’. Meanwhile ‘Gagarin’, fittingly named after the Russian cosmonaut, is a little more spaced-out than the rest of the tracklist, exploring a more free improv-style approach as well as some ambient textures, as Andrés finishes off the track with some digital manipulation of his guitar that brings to mind someone like David Torn.

‘Stóísk’ is perhaps the sweet spot of the record for me, with the rhythm section at its most restrained, Andrés brings out some real delicate melodic vocabulary, and also featuers one of Nico’s most tender basslines on the record as he dips in and out of lyrical lines and anchored low-end. Releasing on the vanguard of Nordic jazz Losen Records, Hereby sits in a comfortable intersection of the cold cinematic tones of labelmates like Per Oddvar Johansen, and modern genre-defying guitar music. And if you’re looking for a modern record to scratch that guitar trio itch, look no further than Hereby.