Spin (p.92) - "TIO BITAR may start with wailing sirens, but Dungen reject bells and whistles, creating a subtle hallucinatory pastiche."
Entertainment Weekly (p.69) - "[T]wo parts screaming riffs to one part placid chamber pop....[With] universally mind-expanding effects." -- Grade: A-
Uncut (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TIO BITAR is an exhilarating blend of folk violin, Middle Eastern drone, organ jazz and guitars that recall the more thuggish end of '60s British freakbeat."
Magnet (p.94) - "[Songwriter Gustav Ejstes] has an undeniable ear for great sounds, especially fat fuzz tones that throb and blob like a self-consciously groovy light show."
The Wire (p.45) - "Reine Fiske's lead guitar work dominates from the start, with a series of Hendrix-fueled solos that crackle and hum like an electrical substation."
Additional personnel: Sarianna Cortez, Magnus Tingsek, Line Karlsnes, Gursel Dayan, Reine Fiske, Andreas Stellan, Johan Holmegard, Mattias Gustavsson, Fredrik Bjorling.
TIO BITAR, Swedish psych revivalists Dungen's follow-up to their 2004 breakthrough album, TA DET LUGNT, packs all the acid-drenched freakiness of its predecessor, but channels it in a more focused direction. Gustav Ejstes and a rotating cast of helpmates continue to party like it's 1969, with plenty of Jimi Hendrix-meets-Jerry Garcia guitar journeys, but this time around Dungen favors concise song forms instead of endless paisley-hued raveups. The shift works well, as soaring vocal harmonies and stately keyboard themes adorn infectious riffs that seem transplanted from some parallel-world version of NUGGETS.
TIO BITAR is bookended by two drastically differing pieces that illustrate the dynamic range Ejstes can muster; the album opens with the appropriately titled "Intro," which immediately plunges the listener into the frenzy of a psychedelic inferno, while closing track "En Gang I Ar Kom Det En Tar" showcases the pretty, balladic side of Dungen via gently plucked acoustic guitar, elegant piano and organ lines, and cooing woodwind sounds. Whether channeling mellow, MEDDLE-era Pink Floyd or churning up a dizzying electric firestorm, TIO BITAR shows that there's still a place for psychedelia in the modern world.
