It’s been almost 5 whole years since Dungen blessed us with new music. I have no idea why they took so long (though hopefully I’ll be able to find out from asking them, keep your fingers crossed on that front!), but I’m thankful the wait is over and we finally have new music from the group in the form of this album Allas Sak. In the beginning, Dungen was essentially the Gustaj Ejstes show, but essentially since Tio Bitar, they’ve been working as a four piece rounded out by Reine Fiske, Mattias Gustavsson and Johan Holmegard. The new album continues a clear progression from the group when you compare their earliest work to the more recent albums. There is definitely a mellower tone as the band has matured and fully truly a band. While they haven’t lost any of their psychedelic leanings, the sound of the group, at least on record, is a bit smoother at the edges and more focused on presenting sounds that flow more fluidly. One of the many things I’ve enjoyed about this group is the frequent inclusion of instrumentals. with such an impeccable attention to sound, it’s always nice to fully experience the music as music. “Flickor Och Pojkar” is a really interesting track, for while it clearly has all of the hallmarks of Dungen’s trademark psych-inflected sound, once the various elements come together when the drums come in, I’d swear this was a “future-funk” instrumental that would find a happy home in the mix with a group like Hiatus Kaiyote. Sounds like this tell me that the band is still searching and still exploring, which is very good for those of us who are fans of Dungen.
