Dungen - 4 (2008)

Dungen - 4 (2008)

Sweden's Dungen is the best psych band to appear since the genre's heyday in the 60's. I'd acknowledge the boldness of that statement, but when you consider their consistency and their competition, it's not such a grand statement at all (and if you disagree with me, I'd really appreciate recommendations for who is better). Hell, I'd argue that calling them the best current psych band is too limiting. Already with one modern classic under their belt this decade in Ta Det Lugnt, 4 is yet another solid release for a band that once again deserves album of the year consideration.

4 is, in a word, stoooooooooooooonned. The lush, hazy sound that the band played with on their previous album, Tio Bitar, returns here. It's a unique sound, rocketing you into the mood of the golden days of the psychedelic era, inducing imagery of smoke-filled rooms with shag carpeting, tacky orange wallpaper, wood paneling, and Eames chairs.

As far as vocals go, singer Gustav Ejstes only bothers with lyrics for half the album, while the remaining songs allow the instruments to speak for themselves. Ordinarily, this sort of back-and-forth format can be distracting, creating a mood where the listener just waits for the typically more interesting vocal tracks to play. Not so with 4. The songs work and blend together nicely, with the more psych pop-oriented tracks fading into in medias res jam sessions. Guitarist Reine Fiske is a true guitar hero, his virtuosic abilities carrying many of the compositions on his back, making the respectable 37-minute album length feel much too brief.

With 4, Dungen have cemented themselves into my personal "Bands/Artists Who Can Do No Wrong" stable. It's an album that should make more than a couple of top ten lists this year. It'll certainly make mine.


Score: 9.5/10


"Det Tar Tid"


"Fredag"