Dungen’ fourth album builds on the Swedish psychedelic bands past releases, projecting them past mere psychedelia, encompassing far more, adding to the tapestry of tripped out guitar workouts with stirring orchestration, cool jazz-room compositions and many cinematic undertones.
The opening track “Satt Att Se” lulls you into thinking its all about the jazz on this album, and then the guitars emerge to take you on a journey… It pretty much alternates between jazz and straight up psychedelia for the whole album, closing with “Bandhagen”, all chimes, flutes, jazz piano and rolling drums before shifting to a brief spurt of guitar feedback cutting out abruptly.
Dungen really shine, now with a new drummer, the beats are more to the fore, underpinning some great song writing, never overstating one sound. Their studio prowess is the real showcase here, while the guitars are still here, in all their glory, and they are glorious, sounding as exciting now as the emerging sound did in the late sixties, there is a balance, a restraint that makes 4 more than a freak-out album. This coherence makes for a classic album, one I’m sure I will be returning to many times over the coming summer, this is no psychedelic dirge, this is Haight-Ashbury for the new millennium.
Its worth revisiting Dungen’ first three albums, but 4 is a different beast, one that will secure their reputation as psychedelic mavericks, and expand their audience far wider than before.
Wayne Stronell
