Album Mini-review: Dungen — Allas Sak
File Next to: Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd
Leader and songwriter Gustav Estjes describes Dungen‘s music as “fokrockpsych.” While that encompasses a wide swath of musical landscape, it barely scratches the surface of Dungen’s musical vision. After a five-year silence that left fans wondering if the Swedish group had folded, Dungen returns with Allas Sak (“everyone’s thing”), their seventh album. The musical motifs on Allas Sak will be familiar to the band’s admirers: a jazz-influenced sound that suggests late-period Hendrix and Traffic, with flute and organ textures deftly woven into the mix. A greater reliance on instrumental passages is a hallmark of this collection. The atonal freakouts that peppered earlier albums are dialed back here (with the possible exception of bits of “Sova”) in favor of an even more melody-focused approach. As with all of the band’s material, the songs here are sung in Swedish, so for Anglophone listeners, the vibe’s the thing.
An edited version of this review appeared in the Colorado Springs Independent.
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Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day since 2018). The 4500-plus interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he taught a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- more than 30 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: Great Concept Albums will be published in 2024. Read even more about him here.