Have YOU Been to Stockholm?

Unfortunately, this month will continue to sag in posts as this weekend I will be going up North. The main reason is that for a second week in a row I will be attending a California region's second best music festival: Party in the Pines in Big Sur. I am pretty amped to not only see Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti again, but also to see a band I have wanted to for over three and a half years - Dungen.

A few months back I posted their follow-up to this album, and indisputable masterpiece. This one, originally released in 2002 made its way to the US in 2005 and in my experience stands up more than any of the following albums do. Hopefully the group's set won't rely too much on that stuff. More seventies-style psych-rock here, and quite a bit more pop-oriented than the harder, trippier Ta Det Lugnt. The album, which's translated title is "City Walks" kicks off with catchy title track that keeps your ears glues as much as the follow-up's "Panda" does. Urban tribute "Har du vart' i Stockholm?" makes it a solid one-two punch that makes the album as great a tribute to the band's home city as classics like Midnite Vultures and Marquee Moon did for Beck and Television, respectively ...and all without understanding the language!

Whereas later efforts show Gustav Ejstes trying to recapture the mastery of Ta Det Lugnt, this album is the sound of him honing his craft in creating the best vintage-style psychedelia, nay music of this decade while displaying his multi-instrumental virtuosity. His way with folkier European arrangements is remarkable as well with "Sol och Regn" being a fiddle and flute instrumental on par with the bonus disc included in the reissue of the follow-up. It is one of the album's finest tracks. Like most other music of the present half of the decade, forget about Dungen's later work - this is the next stop for them. Either way, though I am expecting a life-changing performance from the crew this weekend, and this should give anyone else who will be joining me similar expectations.


Dungen - Stadsvandringar (2002)