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- By date
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What’s most surprising about this set is its stylistic range, encompassing the lunar soundscapes of Sigur Rós ('Sätt Att Se'), the groove-based jazz of Weather Report ('Maleras Finest'), mutated bossa nova ('Det Tar Tid') and Eno-esque ambience ('Bandhagen'), all intercut with shredding rave-ups featuring guitarist Reine Fiske ('Fredag'), who ensures that 4 won’t be consigned to background-music status.
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Filter4 shows Dungen has a vision unmatched in music today, and an album their larger peers in rock experiements could only dream of producing. [Fall 2008, p.94]
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Ejstes' fiddle playing is certainly missed, but that's a minor complaint from an otherwise top-notch effort.
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Under The RadarDungen truely embody that dusty sleeve in some barely solvent vinyl shop, and this is just as good a find. [Fall 2008, p.75]
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Never once do Dungen verge on pretension, sure their songs are grandiose and there are more ideas in 4 than most bands muster up in their whole career but then are pulled off so successfully that one can’t doubt that they are there for any other reason other than furthering the band’s sound.
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It started with the more understated sound of "Tio Bitar," but with the downright catchy songs on 4, the band looks to have reached the height of its powers.
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MojoThis fourth album proper is a stunning return to mind-melting form. [Nov 2008, p.118]
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UncutConstantly questing without ever becoming indulgent, 4 is intoxicating. [Nov 2008, p.94]
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By paying just as much attention to sonic details as ever, Ejstes and his pals have put forth another refined effort, from the piano on back to the drums.
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Q MagazineThe result is something of a left-field classic. [Nov 2008, p.114]
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By keeping the songs a little shorter, and by bandleader Gustav Ejstes not being such a musical ball hog this time around, Dungen has made a record that’s far more sophisticated musically and melodically.
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Even though 4 has a greater emphasis on instrumental compositions that don't suffer much from the absence of Ejstes' vocals, it's a bit of a disappointment that they only show up in half the songs.
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Ejstes seems more concerned with texture and feel than with hooks. Translation: it all sounds better once you’re stoned.
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4 comes off like a minor work by a band of unfuckwithable talent. Which I guess is another way of saying the law of diminishing returns applies here, but you can only expect the band would ride a plateau before moving forward again.
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On 4, he tinkers a bit with the trim, options and manufacturing methods, but leaves Dungen’s styling fundamentally unchanged.
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Alternative PressAwash with sweet bass grooves, tasteful psychedelic guitar action and the occasional Indian tone, the album nonetheless maintains a mostly melancholy quality. [Nov 2008, p.162]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 6
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Mixed: 0 out of 6
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Negative: 1 out of 6
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GuilhermeS.Feb 6, 2009it's one of my favorite albums of all time!
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WesM.Oct 7, 2008As a backward-looking rock fan with pretensions to forward-lookingness (what?), I loved every song.
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AndreasLSep 30, 2008A brilliant album.