It’s been a year, Dubblé Amount (aka Wouter Maré) has penned another album, and Achilles Heel spins a tale of the tough times over a resounding experimental rock core.
Really, Dubblé Amount is a troubadour when it comes to his songwriting craft. Vocals are sparse and rare, but the overarching focus is on the instrumentals really, and fine-tuned electronic ambience. Breezy guitar lines, defiant and groovy bass, and a wash of varied synth rules the album.
Opener “Michelangelo” cuts a sharp contrast between acoustics and slicing electronics, while “Hold the Bridge”, much like the latter, hops between quintessentially catchy melody and atypical experimentation.
The album was penned throughout what’s been a trying time for us all. “Inclined City” – with all its snappy vocalism and driving electronic rock forte – was written when he caught Covid and was in isolation, and is a cold hard look at the existing slave trade (inspired by a smartphone manufacturing documentary) beneath its gauzy exterior.
“Sunset Avenue” ropes in the expertise of Nico Shevron, while “Shifting Gears” builds up and strips right back to the bare-boned bass with experimental finesse. And where Dubblé Amount might err on the basis of one too many repetitive tracks throughout, he makes up for it with a dynamic exploratory sound that knows no bounds.
