Dungen-Allas Sak (2015)

Dungen-Allas Sak (2015)

“You're not to think you are anything special. You're not to think you are as good as we are. You're not to think you are smarter than we are. You're not to convince yourself that you are better than we are. You're not to think you know more than we do. You're not to think you are more important than we are. You're not to think you are good at anything. You're not to laugh at us. You're not to think anyone cares about you. You're not to think you can teach us anything.”

Law of Jante

By: Ghost Writer

I still remember a couple of years ago, a friend's advice about listening to Dungen, I wasn't totally aware of what Dungen was about or where that band was coming from, but Dungen's Ta det lugnt issued in 2004 became a favorite of mine that year, I must admit that I am not precisely a follower of Dungen very special brand of 60s psychedelic rock, but I love to listen constantly to those amazing records coming from one of the world musical Meccas, Sweden.

But Dungen is not your average rock band, and while Dungen output is mainly the work of multi-instrumentalist Gustav Ejstes, his musical work embraces a lot of genres within the psychedelic atmosphere, proving Estjes to be in touch with the recent music of people like experimentalist Ulver, to the garage pop of someone like Ariel Pink (without the amateurism).

Allas Sak is Dungen's most recent recording and it starts with the title track which opens in a rwally gorgeous way, drums upfront and keyboard produced web of colorful sounds, Dungen stuff is morning matter, it sounds like the kind of stuff you listen immediately after you wake up, it's pretty shiny stuff, but at the same time reflects the cold sunrise in the upper part of the world, aka Scandinavia.

Sista Festen goes a little heavy on 60s percussion and could easily be confused with those obscure tunes by the  Boys after Brian Wilson mental collapse, while Sisten Gasten goes for a more darker approach, again with an elaborate drum work guiding the action along with punctuating guitar lines, by the band goes full on prog with the enigmatic Franks Kaktus with its prominent drums and flute leads, creating a solid theme which goes into greater height once screaming  oriental tinged guitars are added to the mix.

Piano and bass interplay at the beginning of Akt Dit, remind me of one of my favorite bands, Magma, with its piano driving lines and laid back vocal melodies, but the comparative quickly ends and Ejstes goes into an upbeat theme with fierce drums and ears piercing sax, and then going into real dissonant landscapes on En Dag PaSjon in which we are witness of a powerful duel between guitars and bass, with the two fighting fiercely for the spotlight giving us the noisiest tune in the whole recording, a kind of powerful climax to a quite amazing dimensional trip.

Flickor Och Pojkar has a prodigious sound, a carefully detailed production that certainly makes listening to it an uncanny experience, it shows why the Swedish are amazing musical world masters slightly behind the U.S. or the United Kingdom, it’s a powerful proof of a musical master playing with all the elements at his hand in the studio and creating art that leaves us amazed, and again creating beautify catchy morning tunes like in the bass propelled spiraling Ljus In I Min Panna.

Allas Sak prove its worth as an astonishing recording from Ejstes who proves himself again as a master of composition and execution, closer tune Sova is another powerful tour de force taking us from a Procul Harum like placid tune into a noise storm that reminds me of the amazing Il Balleto Di Bronzo to finish another great chapter in the story of this great Swedish project.