A pleasant but underwhelming experience

Consistency is a balancing act. Most people wrongly assume that if you do something once it should be easy to replicate over and over again. While this may be true for more rigorously scientific fields, it is patently untrue in arts. One need look no further than examples like Eminem or The Strokes to find artists and groups who hit the ground running only to diminish greatly in recent years. Dungen may not be quite on the same level of those artists, but their latest collaboration with Woods, Myths 003, feels like it could have been so much more.

Myths 003 gets off on the right foot with “Loops,” a song that is just a little bit prog and a little bit noise. The whole affair feels decently complex, but not in any sort of obnoxious way. It’s a wonderful kickoff to the record that heads it off in a positive direction. “Turn Around” follows “Loops” and is the standout track of the record. Dungen shows off a rare moment of radio-friendly sensibility. At moments the backing track feels lo-fi enough that it calls to mind moments of The Avalanches. Vocally the track is fairly simple, but its repetitive nature is easy to get lost in. Moments of guitar noodling break up long vocal sections that could easily grow monotonous.

Unfortunately, the record takes a slight downturn after “Turn Around.” “Marfa Sunset” has moments of value but in general feels too free-form to ever really engage the listener. Tracks that follow it also share similar issues. “Jag Ville Va Kvar” with its funky psychedelic groove is the sole standout from the latter half of the record. Sadly, even that track grows repetitive toward the end, leaving it feeling lackluster in comparison to the front two tracks. Closing track “Just for the Taste” continues to only get the job half done. It does nothing to really pull the listener all the way back in, though there is a pleasant structure to be found within the track it never quite reaches out to grab you. And then as quickly as it came, the whole album has finished, leaving the last notable impact a mere eight minutes into its half hour run time.

That isn’t to say that the album is bad. It’s simply safe, and a little duller than one would expect from a band that has historically been ambitious. Perhaps it was the logistics of doing a collaboration or maybe Dungen wanted to just play in shallow waters this time around. There are elements to like here, parts of the album are essentially Real Estate light in that they’re overwhelmingly relaxing. If what you’re looking for is something to just vibe out to, Myths 003 will get the job done, but it’s hard not to imagine the kind of record this could have been if it dared to push a little farther.