Halcyon Magazine

BY DANIEL HARJU

As whole, “4″ sounds lighter and the compositions are fluffier than Dungen’s previous albums. A majority of songs tread lightly and are built around piano. Although Ejstes steps back from the microphone and allows the songs to drift into instrumental soundscapes, it is unfortunate that he does not sing more, as it would counterbalance Dungen’s instrumental indulgence. Ejstes’ talents as a lyricist are understandably overlooked and lost on a majority of listeners, something he seems completely content with. Dungen’s international acclaim is a compelling testament to the power of imagination, especially due to the ironic fact that Ejstes’ wonderfully introspective lyrics are forever suspended between an unbridgeable linguistic gap, but also because of Dungen’s somewhat lukewarm reception among icy Swedes. (One would think that these guys were already crowned psychedelic royalty in that little kingdom!)

The album opens with “Sätt Att Se (Ways To See),” a mystical wander into a kaleidoscopic interplay between Ejstes’ jazz piano and strings, Reine Fisk’s luscious and punctuating fuzz guitar and deconstructed rhythms. This beautifully pulsating and drifting tune effectively sets the mood for the entire album.

Among the albums best songs are “Det Tar Tid (It Takes Time),” a seemingly love-inspired hymn to a girl. “Samtidigt 1″ and “Samtidigt 2″ are two snippets of a 60-minute jam-out. Number one is a stoned and frenzied jam where guitar virtuoso Reine Fisk assumes the foreground with melodic solos, perpetually morphing upside-down and inside-out. In part two, that same frenzied beast is slumbering while being tickled by the sounds of soothing organ rounds, tinkering guitars and tapping drums. These kinds of improvised musical moments make Dungen one of the best live experiences around.

“Fredag” is an instrumental celebration of the weekend. With its high velocity, this song is perfect for those stoned late night high-speed cruises down empty city streets.

While attempting to pinpoint what characterizes psychedelic music is an exercise in futility, a bit like trying to pair up colors with sounds, hearing this album makes it is easy to differentiate between bands who truly sound the part and others who distract audiences with smoke and mirrors. With “4,” Dungen further cements its spot among artists who have transcended a superficially “psychedelic” sound, i.e. coated mundane compositions that relies on fancy effects and studio trickery to compensate for lack of cerebral complexity. What places Dungen among genuinely psychedelic artists like the legendary 13th Floor Elevators and early Pink Floyd is the simplicity with which the music is played — stripped down but still tripped out and clearly distanced from that tiredly beaten path of folk-psych. The ways in which “4″ foreshadows Dungen further wandering off from that path is exactly what makes this an exciting record.

With the latest album, Ejstes successfully brings his brain child Dungen along on a refreshingly novel musical endeavor. Whereas “Tio Bitar” was a largely unnoticed improvement (the band never toured in support of that album) and continuation of the much lauded “Ta Det Lungt,” this most recent release represents a genuine artistic development and a refreshingly daring departure from Dungen’s proven past successes.

In October and November, US fans will have the chance to wrap their heads around Dungen at live shows in 13 cities, including a November 13 show at the Echo in Los Angeles, CA. Watch out for a review of that show.

See tour schedule: Dungen’s Tour Schedule

Listen To: “Det Tar Tid”

Tags: 4, Dungen, review

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Record Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.