Norwegian alt rockers Dobbeltgjenger are one of the most unique-sounding and brilliant things to have graced the ears and stages of this beautiful country of ours these past many years. Their fifth album titled Master of Failure came out via Apollon Records recently (something akin to the perfect Valentine’s gift, eh?) and so the musically adventurous quartet came up with the idea of doing an in-store gig at the hallowed Apollon Platebar in Bergen’s pulsating city center. Personally, I love those type of gigs in that you get that nicely intimate feel between the band and audience, but whereas some groups or artists merely play for fifteen minutes and then f*ck off, Dobbeltgjenger treated us to a rocking and highly dynamic eight-song set that was as uplifting and fun as it was moving and memorable. Intrigued? You should be, but more importantly, you need to check these chaps and their eclectic brand of music out now regardless of whether indie rock or delightfully left-field prog gives you the thrills.
The interesting thing was that the outfit presented a slightly different take on their sound and usual live setup in that Vegard Wikne had swapped his electric guitar for an acoustic one, but although the song arrangements were slightly sparser and more minimalistic in places than what one usually gets when they perform on bigger stages, they were firing on all cylinders and tore the roof off the joint. Crunchy guitars and psychedelic melodies that take you somewhere else, superb vocals that never fail to hit the spot, brilliant lyrics that tell of everything between anxiety and escapism and further on to old video games and moments of wonder, and a playful rhythm section – what more could you possibly want?!
They kicked things off with a stark and beautiful rendition of ‘Credit Card’ from their brand-new opus before venturing into punchier and more energetic territory featuring the whole band, which basically means that we were treated to gems both old and new such as ‘Weatherman’, ‘Calling Tokyo’ (a personal favorite of this scribe), ‘Building Skyscrapers’, ‘Do the Wrong Things’, ‘Growing is Too Dull’, ‘Mangrove’, and the perfectly dramatic ‘Master of Failure’. What needs to be put in writing here is how much the four members were laughing and smiling throughout the performance; you could tell that they were having a blast and enjoying the buzz of it all.
It truly is amazing just how many feelings and vibes their vibrant and sparkling compositions manage to evoke and all over the course of thirty-five minutes. What struck me the most last night is how expansive and versatile they manage to sound regardless of whether they are up on a big stage or standing right in front of you as they were at Apollon Platebar. It might have been Dobbeltgjenger with a more stripped-down approach to things yet that certainly didn’t diminish their impact in any way. In short, I friggin’ love these gentlemen, and so should you. It is not for nothing that some of us consider their The Twins LP a modern classic. A great night for sure.
Master of Failure is out now via Apollon Records.
