Tune-age Tuesday - Dungen

Dungen Ta Det Lugnt (2004, Subliminal Sounds)
The culinary arts are all about pairings.  Sweet & salty, light & heavy, creamy & flaky.  The pairings are contrasts that compliment each other, causing an entirely new and flavorful dish.  Anyone who has ever experimented with their own pairings knows that they are very subtle and sometimes can go terribly wrong, like a peanut butter & tuna sandwich.

Musical influences work the same way.  Sometimes a sound emerges that is such an unlikely pairing, you simply have to hear it.you have to taste it.  That is definitely the case with Dungen (pronounced “doo-ngen”), the pride of Stockholm, Sweden. Their pairing is equal parts Jimi Hendrix and Sigur Ros.  At least, that’s what I heard my first time through their 2004 release Ta Det Lugnt, which translates to “Take it easy,” in English. 

Never you mind the odd pairing, because Jimi and Sigur Ros are only two of many of the inspired flavors on this reverby classicrock release.  There are hints of Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, My Morning Jacket, and The Doors just to name a few (the list could literally take up a page).  Ta Det Lugnt is their third release after a brief stint on major label Virgin Records, whom they left because the major label vibe didn’t feel right.   However, applause is due any record label releasing Dungen in U.S.  Not only does the band not speak (or sing) a word of English, but a good portion of the album is instrumental, two factors that ordinarily would ensure obscurity for such a release.  But not this one, because.IT ROCKS.  Just ask Wolfmother, who took them on tour last year; or the massive Bonaroo crowd they sent fumbling to recall the current decade. 

The thing is, the classic rock vibe is front and center, but the total sound is fresh.  The production sounds like Jimi’s Are You Experienced without sounding sparse.  Melodies go all over the place, but always resolve, never leaving you behind.  If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself walking around singing the melodies, making up your own words, hours & days after your last spin.  After all, I don’t speak Swedish.  But that’s not a barrier for this album because it stands on its own musically.