June Roundup: Dina Ögon and unintentional 2023 favoritism
Well, we’ve made it to the halfway point!
June continues to bring more bops, more flops, and more surprises. I feel like I say this every month, but I found some of my all-time favorites from this batch. Don’t worry, I don’t blindly give everything a 10; there were definitely some records I heard that just didn’t click, but overall, a lot from this roundup has gained a more-than-permanent place in my daily listening.
HIGHEST RATED: Self-Titled, Dina Ögon (2021)
Hailing from Sweden but taking influences from places like Brazil, Nigeria, and France, Dina Ögon is the jazz-funk creation of singer Anna Ahnlund and guitar/synth/production wiz Daniel Ögren. Their self-titled debut came out in 2021, but the band, which also has Love Orsan on bass and Christopher Cantillo on drums, has collaborated in various combinations for 15 years. The group is self-described as “the bastard love child of Eric B. & Rakim, Fleetwood Mac, Selda Bağcan, and Ted Gär” (seriously, go look at their Spotify bio).
On Self-Titled, Dina Ögon pulls out all the stops. From the most streamed tracks like “Undantag” to deeper cuts like “Nirvana,” the group presents a head-to-toe master class in modern psychedelia, explicitly using the genre's versatility to their benefit, and pushing the boundaries even further. With the bright and all-consuming “Sol,” the record starts in a meditative way, intentionally setting the tone for what follows. The repeated “Vi suddar ut och börjar om” vocals (translated: “We erase and start over”) that close out the song naturally drop you off at the driving, grooved-out beats of “Tombola 94.” An undeniable head-bopper, Tyler the Creator even had the track on his list of favorite listens from 2022. And we’re only on the second song!
Between the Khruangbin-esque guitar and bass riffs (“Efter natten,” “Dolus & Culpa”), vocals that rival that of our operatic queen Caroline Polachek (“Mellanrum,” “Undantag”), and the absolute funkiest of funk (“Ficktjuven”), Dina Ögon use every single second of the record’s 36-minute runtime: nothing goes to waste. Overall, this album just impressed me. With little to no knowledge of this group before the first listen, I came out the other side with a clear understanding of their ethos. After a month of this album on repeat, I can confidently say it’s one of my favorites of the year.
Top tracks include: “Tombola 94,” “Efter natten,” “Nirvana”
June Honorable Mentions: The Age of Pleasure, Janelle Monáe (2023); Joy’All, Jenny Lewis (2023); Root Cause, Cleo Reed (2023)
The new releases kinda took it this month, what can I say?
WHOLESOME LISTEN OF THE MONTH: Bunny, Beach Fossils (2023)
So I’m skipping the Shock of the Month for June. While there were definitely some disappointing shocks (I’m not naming names yet), I just had too many great listens, ones that weren’t necessarily shocking because I was preparing myself to like them, that I’d prefer to give the spotlight. This month, we’re going Wholesome.
Beach Fossils, potentially one of the most salient indie bands to come out of NYC in the 2010s, released their newest album, Bunny, six years after their career-defining Somersault (2017), on their very own Bayonet Records.
There are a lot of things that make this record Wholesome. In terms of personal Wholesomeness, I went to the pre-release panel/listening and the release day show the week Bunny dropped. Aside from these events being expectedly fun and cool (potentially too cool for me), they were also intimate, and somewhat vulnerable. The pre-release event included a museum-like exhibit of relics from the band’s history: setlists/posters from significant shows, never-seen photos from the early days, and artwork cataloging the band’s eras. There was an emphasis on change and growth, but also acknowledging the past for how it got the band to where they are today. This theme of evolution came through in the panel conversation with band members Dustin Payseur (vocals, guitar), Tommy Davidson (guitar), Jack Doyle (bass), and Anton Hochheim (drums). Things sure are different, but they’re also still the same.
Bunny as a record also comes from a much more intimate place than previous works: Payseur has gone through a slew of changes since the release of Somersault. Between COVID and fatherhood, he is not the same person, or musician, he was six years ago. And that shines through in Bunny. Aside from the vocals being the clearest and most prominent they've been in the band’s history, the lyrics themselves explore themes around grief (“Waterfall”), ever-changing/malleable relationships (“Don’t Fade Away”), and existential crises (“(Just Like The) Setting Sun”). Still firmly rooted in their dream-pop staples (the album would be incomplete without its moments of shoegaze, tough-but-still-relaxed punk, and the riffiest of riffs) the band sticks to what put them on the map, but in a more elevated and refined way. You hear Somersault, but you also hear What a Pleasure (2011), and Clash the Truth (2013). But most importantly, you hear Bunny. Throughout the record, Beach Fossils acknowledge their roots, while forging the path forward for something completely new.
“No one ever tells you just how hard it’s gonna be / When you’re living on your own / The world is full of hatred and predictability / Will our love mean anything to anyone?”
Top tracks include: “Sleeping On My Own,” “(Just Like The) Setting Sun,” “Tough Love”
And with that, we enter the second half of 2023. As always, take a gander at the playlist for a deeper look at my favorite tracks of the month, and send anything you think is worth a listen my way!
