TA DET LUGNT

Dungen are not just another retro psychedelic band that indie hipsters will instantly flock to because of their praise on Pitchfork Media. There's so much more to them than that. They're excellent musicians, songwriters, and they have an superb vision of psychedelia that they live up to.

Gustav Ejstes is responsible for most of the instrumental work in the album. While he does receive help from other musicians, he must receive credit for his enormous amount of musical talent. Powerful dream attacks, scorching guitar solos , melodious basslines, flowing flute lines, and vintage organ sounds are all provided by him. Not only does he provide much instrumental muscle but all of the songs were written and arranged by him.

While instrumental talent borders on virtuosity the band never gets lost in pointless noodling. A strong melodic flow in maintained throughout the whole album and songwriting always come first. There is absolutely nothing at all self indulgent about this. They can jam and keep it interesting, and when they do it's pure manna.

While the entire album is in the Swedish language for some strange reason I find the songs still have some form of emotional impact on me. At times I want to sing along in joy to the chorus of 'Festival' or 'Panda' even though I have no idea what they're singing. The lyrics have a certain flow regardless of the fact that they're incomprehensible to me. To me this is a testament to the songwriting skills of the band.

Influences I can hear in this album are mainly bands like Jefferson Airplane with their psychedelic freak outs, incendiary Hendrix styled soloing, and jazzy breaks featuring woodwind that bring up Jethro Tull's finest work. Veering more on the side of psychedelic folk than space rock, Dungen still manage to ensure that they make their songs rock, which is nice to hear.

Basically this album is a modern classic that while retro sounding still tread new ground in the field of psychedelia. I highly recommend it to all prog fans, there's something here for everyone.