Dungen - Tio Bitar Album Review

Dungen
Tio Bitar
Album Review

Swedish band Dungen scored a breakthrough hit with Ta Det Lugnt, a psychedelic prog rock album sung entirely in Swedish. Its thick organ and elegant rock guitar made the language unimportant.

Tio Bitar grunges it up a little, mixing rock with some ambient organ weirdness. Singer and songwriter (and multi-instrumentalist) Gustav Estjes clearly has honed his craft, but guitarist Reine Fiske has more to do with making this a great listen - lead and rhythm are fluid and elegant, making this genuinely great rock that any listener from the 1960s forward would recognise (think Free and Yes combined).

The song Mon Amour is an amazing showcase for his talent, and there are more instrumentals this time around than on Ta Det Lugnt. It may struggle to build on the surprise success of that album, but not because it isn't its match. The fact that it is in Swedish is of little concern, unless psychedelic rock lyrics usually appeal to you. The sound is wonderful; Tio Bitar is a great place to spend 40 minutes.

4/5

Mike Rea