Philemon Arthur and the Dung
The Swedish Grammy Sweepers
avant-folk, lo-fi indie
Discography- Philemon Arthur and the Dung 8/10
- Skisser över 1914 års badmössor 9/10
Philemon Arthur and the Dung are a reclusive outsider art project by two as-yet unnamed Swedish musicians. According to Wikipedia, they refuse to release their names lest people in their small village discover their identities. The mystery surrounding the band adds to the intrigue of what is one of the oddest bodies of work in the past fifty years of music or so. They released two LPs, listed above, and a couple compilations, one an anthology and the other a greatest hits.
The duo do a very good job of combining folk influences from their region with outmoded recording technologies, untuned instruments, and (attempts at) styles of music from all over the rock Anglosphere. The Shaggs they are not - the two succeed in not only creating a naive take on musical composition that perhaps the young, amateurish gal group could take claim to doing as well, but also in being socio-politically provocative in their lyrics, which discuss a broad range of topics of critical world importance; for instance, homelessness.
The music itself is magical. The timbre is that great, off-putting, recorded-on-****-microphones sound that, say, Half Japanese took advantage of. The guitar tones are plucky and resonant, while the assorted strange instruments create scenes not only of bedrooms and musical adventure, but also of a frosty, distant circus. Philemon Arthur and the Dung also don't shy away from the occasional utility of things around the house that are available to bang against walls and chairs and each other, but their singular musicality is never lost to pretentious bouts of banging. These guys are a pop band at their core, and a damn fine one. A final fun fact: the band's debut self-titled LP actually won best album at the Swedish equivalent of the Grammys, leading to mass boycotting of the show for a few years!
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