Tio Bitar

There are some bands (exempli gratia Radiohead and Animal Collective) that invite high expectations for consistently revolutionary output. At the same time, there are others that satisfy their audience by sticking with whatever musical formula they do best. (See Explosions In the Sky and the latest LP therefrom.) I love Dungen, so I have been eagerly awaiting their follow-up to the neo-psych rock showcase that is Ta Det Lugnt.

Tio Bitar (which tidily means "Ten Pieces" in Swedish), the latest from mastermind Gustav Ejstes, does not disappoint. That is, of course, if you like Dungen's sound in the first place. On this record, Ejstes does not exactly build on the layers of blown-speaker guitar jams, dreamy reverberated piano odysseys, and atmospheric flute solos of Ta Det Lugnt (meanwhile singing entirely in Swedish). Instead, it's more of the same from the first searing note to the sleepy closer.

And that's a great thing.

I want Dungen to be Dungen, not something outside their realm of 1968ish production, sonic sensibility, and general psych-pop aesthetic. I'm certain you could play Tio Bitar to the unaware and easily convince them that it's a long-lost LP from the Scandinavian classic rock scene. This stuff is so good, it very well might be...