Label: Carimbo Porta-Jazz, 2026
Personnel - Hugo Ferreira: guitar; Miguel Meirinhos: piano; Pedro Molina: double bass; Gonçalo Ribeiro: drums.
Spanish-born, Portugal-based bassist and composer Pedro Molina reunites his working quartet—featuring Portuguese musicians guitarist Hugo Ferreira (subbing for Filipe Dias), pianist Miguel Meirinhos, and drummer Gonçalo Ribeiro—for a well-designed, artfully executed sophomore album centered on Alzheimer’s disease. Blending contemporary jazz with art-rock and alternative influences, the group evokes the conflicting sensations of forgetting and remembering, structure and freedom, reverie and reality.
Imbuing his eight original compositions with an organic and carefully balanced inner logic, Molina and his cohorts open the album with “Denial”, whose odd-meter pulse never compromises the ensemble’s effortless flow. Meirinhos and Ferreira understand their roles within the framework, skittering around the rhythmic core yet always landing exactly where they should. Despite what the title may imply, nothing here feels wasted or unresolved, and Ferreira’s solo—dreamlike on one side, piercing on the other—unfolds over a striding rhythmic cadence.
Exploring the possibilities of post-bop and alternative rock, “Acceptance” carries echoes of Radiohead in an emotionally charged ride through multiple metered passages whose timbral effects shape the tune’s texture. “I’m Not the Same” is sprinkled with polyrhythmic activity, subtle undercurrents, and a nuanced sense of motion throughout its unfolding.
“Será Que Não Há Mesmo” resembles a strange and inventive tango, driven by experimental determination, rhythmic punctuations, and openness. Rim shots and pizzicato bass combine immaculately within a broad emotional spectrum, and the tune naturally evolves into increasingly exploratory terrain. In turn, “Valadas”, with its rubato feel, atmospheric quality, and intimate interaction, emerges as a poignant ballad energized by a subtle rock undercurrent.
Another ballad, “Who Helps Me When I Can’t Remember Anything”—shaped as a polished waltz—closes the album with more reflection and lyricism than irreverence. Yet the standout track is the angular and persistently thrilling “Familiar As Fog”, which finds pure joy within its fragmented avant-garde process. Propelled by an erratic rhythmic pulsation, it later introduces dynamic wah-wah guitar lines over a steady pulse.
Each composition unfolds methodically and without excess, while the band’s commitment and control lend the project remarkable depth. Molina is a musician to follow.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Denial ► 02 - Acceptance ► 06 - Familiar as Fog