8 / 10
Everybody should sing in Swedish. Its proximity to English rhythms keeps it pleasing to the ear, while at the same time it remains alien enough to completely bypass the prejudicial bugbear of lyrical interpretation. It is also, incidentally, the best language for bucolic, psychedelic peace-prog. Melodies snatched from the heavens, queer instruments purchased from tumbledown pawn shops – Dungen are the band The Mars Volta wish they were. ‘‘Familj’ is like Wayne Coyne coming off methadone with only ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ to keep him company, while ‘C Visar Vägen’ trickles along like a lost Kevin Shields instrumental. Really, Dungen’s ‘composer’ Gustav Ejstes can do no wrong.
Mike Sterry
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