Everywhere you look, psychedelic rock seems to be popping up. And it's not just in the States, but all over the world. It's happening in Italy with the likes of bands such as Jennifer Gentle. It never really stopped happening in the UK. And thanks to Animal Collective, Comets on Fire and countless other bands that may or may not be taking lots of drugs, it's happening in the US, possibly more than it is anywhere else. But it happens to be in Sweden that it's happening the best. And it's all thanks to Dungen, the tripped-out vehicle for songwriter Gustav Ejstes. But the thing about Dungen that may take a little getting used to is the Swedish part. That's right — all of the lyrics are in Swedish.

Had one of my former neighbors still lived nearby, I could probably use his fluency to decode everything that's happening on Ta Det Lugnt, Dungen's newest. And I could probably plug all the words into Babelfish, but then again, I'm not sure I really know how to spell everything. But the title of the first song is in English ("Panda") and I figure that's the best place to start with just how awesome this Dungen band is. With a rumble of reverb-treated drums and chugging guitar scratches, "Panda" bursts into a Technicolor carousel of sound. Like some kind of strange cross between Comets on Fire and Olivia Tremor Control, Dungen plays it heavy and layers on instrument after instrument in a whirling hallucinatory daydream. And the fact that it's not in English just seems to make it that much more of an adventure, and all the more joyous and euphoric.

The next, and only additional, song titled in English is "Festival," a song that begins simply enough, with heavy crashing drums and some basic acoustic strums. But after a few verses, the echoing pianos start crashing through, turning what would have been a simple pop song into a heady, psych-rock trip-out. "Du E För Fin För Mig" is an epic masterpiece of a song that begins with a string overture fit for one of Ejstes' more pretentious British contemporaries, but quickly switches to a catchy, acoustic verse. But the strings return during the magnificently huge chorus. I hear the title means "You Are Too Fine For Me," which could mean that this is their "Foxy Lady." But probably not.

In the title track, a lovely, jazzy piano riff twists around a scratchy guitar melody, in what sounds like Vince Guaraldi jamming with Hendrix. More twinkly piano lines flutter about "Det du tanker idag är du I morgon," an instrumental track that's simple and beautiful, shying away from the overblown psych rock on earlier parts of the album. "Bortglömd" returns the guitar-driven freakouts in large numbers, however. And if the bombast becomes too much, then look no further than "Lipsill," a happenin' seventies-flavored pop song.

With so much emphasis on psychedelic music these days, you'd think we were all transported back to the sixties. But in the case of Dungen, Ta Det Lugnt suggests that this thick psych-rock broth may be the musical sustenance of the future. And if you don't speak Swedish, don't sweat it. Ta Det Lugnt rocks, no matter what language you speak.

Similar albums:
Comets on Fire - Blue Cathedral
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
Olivia Tremor Control - Dusk at Cubist Castle


Jeff Terich
03.13.2005