Search - Dungen :: Tio Bitar

I'm not Bitar

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 05/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Personally, I never would have bet for Dungen to break out, outside of Sweden. Their dense psychedelic rock is not poppy even at their poppiest, and the whole thing is sung in Swedish.



But in fact, it did, with 2004's "Ta Det Lugnt," despite the music odds being stacked against it. And for the follow up, "Tio Bitar," Gustav Ejstes mostly sticks to the layered psych-folky hard-rock that has worked before, but gives it a slightly grimier edge.



It opens with a buzzing, screaming riff torn from a hard-rocker's heart, twisting around on itself like a coiled spring. But Ejstes throws in some twists -- around the halfway point, it cycles around a delicate flute melody and some rapid-fire drumming. And that's just the introduction!



He follows it up with the very different "Familj," a pleasant blend of ambient retro keyboard, dancy strings and solid drumming (mostly cymbals). You can't really put your finger on what it sounds like, and you can't really label it. Well, good.



The songs that follow are just as unexpected: intensely psychedelic hard-rockers like "Gör Det Nu," rippling pastoral ballads, fast-moving bass-rockers, gentle acoustic pop songs with spiraling riffs. And in the last three songs, Estjes makes his music even more complex -- the finale "En Gang I År Kom Det En Tår" is a masterpiece of fuzzy piano-folk and ambient synth.



"Tio Bitar" is a bit folkier and a bit rockier than Dungen's previous albums, and at times it seems to be split between those sounds -- first we get a psychedelic hard rocker, then a mellotron-folk song. But the heart of "Ta Det Lugnt" still seems to be there -- complex, strange and often meandering.



And Estjes packs this with even more instruments in his rapid, soaring music -- obviously there's the grimy bass and rampaging electric riffs, solid percussion and keyboards. But he packs in flashes of colourful mellotron, delicate flute, violins, and what sounds like klezmer, woven together into a shimmering psychedelic tapestry.



And I have no idea what Estjes is saying (except that the title means "Ten Pieces"), because I don't speak a word of Swedish. But he has a pleasant, mellow voice, sort of like a rockier Colin Meloy, and he can raise his voice to stand out in any kind of music.



"Tio Bitar" is a little bit folk-country, and a little bit rock'n'roll. But it retains the intense prog-psych-rock that Dungen is known for, and only makes it more entrancing."

That decade you love is back in style.

jokamachi | california | 05/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have no idea what Dungen is saying, but somehow it doesn't matter; melody and coutermelody interweave themselves through this psychedelic recording like few have done in recent memory. It's overwhelming at first... like hearing anything reinvented on a grand scale... shimmering harmonies laden with hooks and allusions, all seamlessly integrated... so much energy and hard rocking moments... it's a stratospheric journey through the annals of rock, one that leaves you haunted and reaching for the play button a second time.





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Not retro!

Violet Mendonça | San Francisco, Ca | 06/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A window into our own times. This is not retro...it is just pure cannibalism...Like Tropicalia was...I have seen these guys twice live...and they are even better then the records are. When they hit your town to tour this beast, it is a must if you want to see one of the last real rock bands on the planet."