Panda

from the LP Ta Det Lugnt, Subliminal Sounds Records, 2004



One thing I especially love about music is the fact that, much like math, it is truly universal; an E minor is an E minor, whether you are at elevation in the Himalayas or dodging poison darts in the Amazon. The commune of rotating musicians known as Dungen, always helmed by the mighty Gustav Ejstes, happens to hail from Sweden; not the trendy, bumping Stockholm mind you, but from the far southern tip of the country, in the woods. Good music is music, no matter what language the lyrics are sung in, and I always have a lot of respect for bands that stick with their native tongue rather than singing in English---this happens to be really good music. Ejstes’ grasp of fuzzed-out, hard psych rock is astonishingly authentic, and this track is an exceptional example of what Dungen is capable of doing. An arrhythmic drum roll guides us into their weird Scandinavian fairy-land, quickly punctuated with some stabbing, distorted guitar; this all detonates into a driving psychedelic rocker which has the effect, both musically and mentally, of a blooming flower shot in time-lapse. The title of the album, Ta Det Lugnt, roughly means “take it easy” in English, and this track will pound you into submission, flying aloft on big riffs, hammering drums, ever-present tambourine & a vibe which compels the listener to shake their head and body in freeform delight. I realize some people might find it hard to get past lyrics they don’t understand, but the music here is strong enough on its own; conceivably, having been prepped with lots of Krautrock and living abroad for a few years (¡Viva la Republica Dominicana! mi corazón está con vosotros, siempre) has left me attracted to music that’s not in English. “Vägen bort är lång, längre bort än hem…” loosely translates to, “The way out is long, further away than home,” and it does feel a bit like a traveling song here; both literally and figuratively. The chorus, which even before I translated the lyrics was always getting stuck in my head due to its peculiarly catchy melody , speaks of a woman he was once with, seemingly misses, and asks, “…men det skiter du väl i?” This roughly means “what shit you in?”, which might be the Swedish way of saying “what’s up?”, or it might be losing something in the translation---good try Google translator!