Dungen
Tio Bitar

I love bands that define their sound in every minute detail: those that study each aspect of "how to play" even before they tackle the question of "what to play." And I love Dungen, who have made characterization their strength, starting from the firm intention of performing their music entirely in their native language, Swedish.

If the previous "Ta Det Lugnt" brought them to the attention of the public for their excellent compositional quality, the new "Tio Bitar" shatters and surpasses the record. A masterpiece of sonic illusionism and a game of references that evokes the best influences of 60s-70s rock music, blending them with absolute personality and inventiveness: Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Genesis, Jefferson Airplane, Can, Byrds, Pink Floyd, Beatles, May Blitz, Grand Funk Railroad, and all the underground psychedelia of the sixties, revisited with the practical honesty of what seems to me to be the best revival band of the 21st century. Because they record everything with a maniacal attention between stereo and mono, the acoustic effect of natural reverb and that "analog" sound rendering that makes each instrument warm, powerful, rounded; like the bass, never distorted and always full, or the vibrating drums, with that "thud" sound typical of Gretsch percussion.

Here and there an organ, a sitar, and a transverse flute break up the scenes. And in a landslide, changes in tone and rhythm rain down when you least expect it among impossible melodic interweavings and enchanting acoustic elements that often border on the grandiosity of prog, only to then unravel with electric whips, bass overflows, and ultrabeats of drums always in the foreground, exalted in the role of guiding track.
And then, away, the best recorded performance for the rhythm section in the past ten years. It makes you want to phone Sweden to ask them where they placed the microphones, how they tightened the skins, what amplifiers they used, and how they worked on the acoustic isolation of each instrument. And to seal this enchantment of perfect sounds, the musicality of the voice, which, beyond the apparent linguistic constraints, forces the listener to reconvert all modes of understanding and simply... let go. It’s pure joy to be able to sing "uuhm ende pufta latta bendiii vairendedôr" (which is like asking: how creative are you while singing and mumbling in the shower in the morning?)

Regal bow and top marks for my album of the season.