Tio Bitar

Dungen

Subliminal Sounds

2007-05-21

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The summer is here, and it sounds distinctly like it’s the summer of love (in a good way), at least for Gustav Esjstes, Dungen’s mainman who pretty much wrote, recorded and produced the whole of Tio Bitar himself. The album, whose title translates as “Ten Pieces” is, as with its predecessors, sung entirely in Esjstes native Swedish and offers a fascinating modern interpretation of the grooves and styles of the experimental eras of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Psych, folk, prog, kraut, Canterbury, pop, The Beatles, Donovan, Caravan, Hendrix, Love, Can, Faust, The Who etc etc — all and more make some kind of appearance in the mesh of influence — alongside modern sunny psych groups like Supper Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci (foreign language an influence here too perhaps). Dungen definitely sound retro but are modern too, probably better described as a band in conversation with the past — and it’s a fascinating one with many high points.

Glorious stuff.

From the late-60s soundtrack rock of cleverly-titled instrumental opener “Intro” through the light melodo-psych pop (think Beatles/Super Furries) of “Familj” Tio Bitar offers hook after hook and shifts the band from fretwork psych-rockers into multi-sensory cinescapers with organs, violins and more, upping the folk and prog stakes at every turn. However that’s not to say there’s no ballsy rock at play — the fuzzy wah is out and attacking all over the place too — “Got Det Nu” and “Du Ska Inte Tro Alt Det Ordnar Sig” for example, and “Mon Amour” offers the kind of stomping riffs you’re probably looking for. Lighter moods on tracks like “C Visar Vagen” and “Sa Blev Det Bestamt” highlight both the album’s diversity as well as most of the individual tracks’ — the latter offering a carefully constructed build and shape through progressive instrumental polyphonies. “Svart Ar Himlen”s early Jethro Tull flutey bop feels its way into big piano underpinned by a driving jam rhythm and the album ends on a light exploratory note with the thoughtful instrumental walkaround of “En Gang I Ar Kom Det en Tar”. Glorious stuff.