Daily Jam - Du e för fin för mig

First and foremost, I have always been a beer guy. I always will be. But that’s not to say that I didn’t also enjoy years of youthful indiscretion. Years that have most certainly passed me by (for the most part), but that I have fond memories of nonetheless. I don’t miss those heady days necessarily, but every once in a while, a jam will come along that makes me want to relive them, to partake again, “to cop out [sic] to groove,” as they say. And so we have the complete works of Swedish psych rock band Dungen, or more specifically, the song “Du e för fin för mig” from the 2004 album Ta det lugnt. It makes me move and groove, and I can think of nothing better to listen to while sitting back, freaking out, and smearing your brain like finger paints across the cosmos to.

The strings (synthesizer I think) come in first, layers of calm and tranquility, a wistful melody that feels like the sun rising over a valley, dew on the grass, a gentle chill still in the air, then fades. And then the acoustic guitar riff begins, banging it out to a head-nodding, toe-tapping strum, a clap-along beat, and Swedish vocals, that despite my not understanding a single syllable of them, sound absolutely profound. The strings return, and far-out effects, like a haze hanging over the field, and everything’s hummable. Everything’s still, but waving. And the groove plays out, ready to come to its inevitable end. And then the acid-drenched guitar freak-out, pummeling drums, screeching feedback, thundering bass, tranquility trampled but still loving it. And then someone pulls the plug, we all collapse, coming down.

If a song can make you want to take drugs, you know it’s probably a good one. Hallucinate. Drug use, not drug abuse (maybe the lamest thing I’ve ever said). So, do what you will, and listen below.

I hope my mom doesn’t read this.

Check it out, our Daily Jam.

Dungen

October brings us new music from our Swedish psychedelic overlords Dungen.  Check out new tune "Nattens Sista Strimma Ljus" below and pre-order the upcoming "En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog" LP here from Mexican Summer.

Daily Jam - Panda

Here's a modern psych rock classic from Dungen.  Check out "Panda" below, our Daily Jam.

Dungen & Woods

Mexican Summer's Marfa Myths has been a pretty interesting little festival these last couple of years, and someday i'm really going to have to venture west into the desert to check this music and art gathering out.  The lineups are always great, both sonically and visually, the whole thing seems like this really cool and intimate affair.  So far, each year has spawned a collaborative record from a pair of artist released on the record label as a kind of series called "Myths."  2015 gave us work from Connan Mockasin and Dev Hynes from Blood Orange and 2016 was an almost madrigal pairing of Ariel Pink and Weyes Blood.  2017's effort, which comes out in March, is a collection of poppy, folksy psych jams from the boys in Dungen and Woods.  Listen to "Turn Around" below and pre-order the record here.  Also, get tickets to the festival here if you are so inclined.  This year's collaboration will be from Deerhunter/Atlas Sound main man Bradford Cox and Cate Le Bon.

Dungen

Swedish prog and psych rock band Dungen have a new record, "Haxan," out in November on Mexican Summer.  Listen to the first taste, "Jakten genom skogen," an airy and cosmic instrumental below.

The Amazing

The Amazing are a psych rock outfit from Sweden featuring members of Dungen, which is pretty much all i need to know to have my interest piqued.  For the rest of you however, the band makes droney, floaty psych explorations that could accompany a drive through the country at night or a solo and lonesome flight through space.  Listen to "Safe Island" below and grab the "Picture You" LP from Partisan Records.