The Pop Corporation

Sometimes, good music feels like it actively nourishes you and one such band that are better than vitamins are Sweden’s Dina Ögon. Seriously – you’ll actively feel better about your insides after listening to them.

So what’s the deal? Well, two albums in, the group are melding styles that are all as wonderful as each other – there’s elements of popsike and bubblegum Stax, as well as jazz and elegant folk, with added Anatolian funk and Tropicalia, all wrapped up in a daydream of West Coast sunshine and the long-haired end of Yacht Rock. It’s lightly jazzy, it’s pure pop music, it’s nostalgic, it’s also right now – they’re just about perfect in every way.

Despite all these things, there’s no-one else quite like them. They exist in their own bubble in pastels and airiness, with a lighter touch of Serge’s Melody Nelson LP, with Stereolab, Gal Costa, Broadcast, Caetano Veloso and a head full of the dreamiest summer soul music.

Their first self-titled LP was a revelation, with people likening them to Khruangbin and the like, but there’s so much more to them that this, even if such references are a great way in. Fact is – Dina Ögon are in a league of their own and just about the most perfect group on Earth right now. The music is reflective, it’s fun, and showcasing a band so sure of what they want to do and gently bobbing along on the tide and inviting you along for the ride.

And 2023 sees a new LP, titled ‘Oas’, and they just keep getting better. There’s all the influences mentioned earlier, but it’d be remiss of us to not mention their innate Swedishness. For a country that seems to endlessly turn out the greatest melodies, this group are carrying the torch, no question about that.

However, while Sweden is known for great synthetic pop and big dancefloor stompers, Dina Ögon are more glittery and apply the lightest of touches. There’s a feeling while listening to them that they are an amalgamation of all Swedish pop culture rolled into one precious thing. The psychedelic folk traditions, The Cardigans ‘Life’, Thomas Almqvist’s ‘Nyanser’, a smidge of Scandi melancholy and cool, pop curiosity, linen trousers and effortless greatness. This all said, it doesn’t even get close to being pretentious – they’re just brilliant.

There’s just so much joy in their music that they could melt the most cynical of hearts. The grooves are tight, the basslines inventive, and a slickness that feels right rather than robotic. Sure they’re clever and talented and all that – but you won’t find that smart-arseness that can blight a lot of bands who know their way around a fretboard – if Dina Ögon like Steely Dan, they’re not channelling them along with their attitude – it might be smart people’s music, but you don’t need to beat everyone over the head with it.

‘Mormor’ from the newest LP is slow, utterly irresistible and show an outstanding band at work. They’re exactly the kind of group that you might blink, miss the vinyl run, shrug, and then find yourself in 4 years time wondering if you can afford to shell out £70 on Discogs because you fluffed your chance.

Come the end of 2023, ‘Oas’ will almost certainly be in our top 3 LPs of the year. They’re a unique and special band and real heads are already murmuring hard about them.

They themselves have referred to their music as the bastard love child of Eric B. & Rakim, Fleetwood Mac, Selda Bağcan and Ted Gär, which you’ll have to dig into their backcat yourself to see if it’s true. Their free-spirited jazz-pop is definitely something you need to horse into yourself – seriously – they’ll lift your mood and you’ll feel like you’ve just had someone wash your hair for you.

If you’re a music lover rooted in the past, then there’s enough lushness of ’70s soul and West Coast pop for you to love; if you’re a forward thinker, then it really feels like Dina Ögon are the next chapter in Swedish pop music and there’s enough retro-futurism to keep you nourished. Everything this band does is just impeccable and if you’re not a fan yet, you’ll soon be obsessed.

There’s not enough nice words in the English language for this band. Go and get compulsively crazy about them right now!