aMute - Infernal Heights For A Drama
After five years and two Canadian releases, Belgium’s Jerome Deuson has taken his solo project aMute and put a band behind it, on his own Brussels based Stilll Records label. The name aMute itself suggests a sound without any one discernable format; designed to make difficult any simple musical reference point or comparison. The press release echoes this but not before unhelpful references to indie rock and post folk. Originality is no bad thing but without a certain consistency in style an album can meander rather than convince.
The transition from bedroom artist to rock outfit develops awkwardly over the first two tracks. The eerie Gothic nature of opener ‘Break’ with its unnerving vocal musings about ‘David’ doesn’t fill me with much hope. The track that follows seems similarly rooted in the world of processed beats and production rather than band craft. But there is an epiphanical moment at around three minutes in where a lush bass guitar sequence suddenly breathes life into proceedings. It is as if the rest of the band had turned up late, picked up tools and said, ‘Right, let’s ‘ave it!’ From hereon Deuson and his fellow musician show real rock song craft. There is a sprawling Mid-West lazy beauty about ‘Begone’ and the split ten minute plus feast ‘Enclosed Movement/Inner You’ is something of a pop styled prog rock delight.
There are some clever hooks on this album and you are rewarded by revisiting it to extract and understand its essence. Akin to a Victoria sponge, drier and less appealing the further towards the outside you go, the dull cake juxtaposed by the quality of filling. The final track echoes the computer generated nature of the first. But even this has time to wend its way into a wistful piano and guitar progression to finish.
Infernal Heights does have some delectable moments but it is likely to divide opinion due to its inconsistency of style; it will remind you of diverse artists. It is often magical and surprising, sometimes dull, depending on your sensibilities as a musical consumer. For the most part it is, however, a very classy alt rock album underpinned by stylized production which can sometimes break up the flow. This is however all very intentional. No hook is overplayed so they sink in slowly with repeated listens. Well that’s me convinced. Go on. Give it a try.
Top tracks: 'Begone', 'Enclosed Movement/Inner You'
Released 14/04/2008 on Still