HERMAN DUNE - Not On Top

Originally an all-Swedish trio – the "new" drummer on board since 2001, Numan, is Swiss – Herman Dune beef up their ranks for their sixth album (seventh if you count a split with Cerberus Shoal). The music on "Not on Top" benefits from the bass and second voice of Julie Doiron, a disciple of Cat Power who had already collaborated with the group in the past. On the other hand, the choice to record in mono, made as a tribute to the subject matter, hurts the sound quality (a real shame), flattening it out.

Speaking of subject matter: for anyone with no idea what Herman Dune are about, let's dispel any doubt right away by saying the band's Nordic origins have nothing to do with it. Musically, Herman Dune are American, thoroughly American, sincerely American. Released two years after their previous "Mas Cambios", "Not on Top" is a collection of twelve songs (plus two interludes and an instrumental coda), all between three and four minutes long (only one reaches 4'07"), that dig deep into the American tradition. Country and folk are the raw material which the band handles with a fresh, easygoing, off-kilter and touching touch, thanks to guitars, piano, bass, drums and dual vocals. There are few missteps: after all, back in 2001 the Dunes claimed to have written 400 songs, so they should know their way around a tune by now.

It's precisely this evident gift for songwriting that wins the band the game and sets this latest work apart from a million similar records. You start to realize you're not dealing with amateurs from the third track, "Had I Not Know", a Smiths-like melody (the only moment not traceable to American sounds) over a bed of drums, strummed guitar and shimmering flourishes. The substance tends to concentrate as you move toward the middle of the record. The dreamy melody of "Walk Don't Run" spills into an epic chorus before culminating in an instrumental crescendo, the western ballad "Slow Century" – delivered in a Lou Reed-like spoken drawl – reeks of desert, while the handclap-driven jig "This Will Never Happen", with its slide-guitar counterpoint, pulls you into a joyous dance.

After the two brief interludes, things pick back up with the country gallop of "You Could Be a Model, Goodbye", while among the high points sits the heartfelt, aching guitar (with tribal accompaniment) of "Good for No One". The last song worth mentioning is the sweet lullaby of "Orange Hat", entrusted to Doiron. "Not on Top" is a road-trip record, rich in ideas and content, one where you'll often find yourself switching allegiance from one track to another, and one that's unlikely to wear thin (and that leaves the impression its live rendition might be even better).

This certainly isn't a work that will change lives or rock history, but it is capable of delivering moments of lightheartedness and emotion. And that's enough.

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30/04/2026