Dungen

Tio Bitar (Kemado)

Dungen never became “the new Zeppelin,” but they’ve got a sense of humor about it. On fourth album Tio Bitar (“10 Pieces”), the Swedes ignite right from the “Intro,” when we hear a siren and then smell the fire. And the flute. Singing in Swedish, as on 2005’s excellent Ta Det Lugnt, multi-instrumentalist Gustav Ejstes sticks more to rocking than singing, and why not? He could be vocalizing in Sigur Rós for all we know on the euphoric “Svart Är Himlen” and golden “Familj,” which only imbues them with the necessary psychedelic blues. The marathon “Mon Amour,” erupting midway with a lava-hot guitar freak-out courtesy of secret weapon Reine Fiske, gets the Led out, maybe even the Can, and Dungen does it well. The inside photo of Ejstes, looking suspiciously like Robert Plant, may be intentional.

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This article appears in June 15 • 2007.

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