Before I get started, I just want to say that I do enjoy things that don’t come from Sweden. It’s just a coincidence that this particular country seems to be having somewhat of a cultural renaissance in terms of things I like such as quality indie-pop (see Suburban Kids With Biblical Names) and lovable indie vampire flicks (see Let the Right One In). Peter Bjorn and John (PB&J) are at the forefront of this movement, having taken the college radio and indie blog world by storm in 2007 with their third release, Writer’s Block, which featured their painfully catchy über-hit, “Young Folks,” the song that had the whole world whistling.
With big shoes to fill, PB&J open their newest record, Living Thing (not to be confused with the Matthew Sweet record), on a weak note with a few tracks that are relatively forgettable beyond their heavy saturation of Casio drum-machine effects. The third track, “Just the Past,” is the first song on the album that sounds anything remotely like their earlier catalog, almost like a cross between “Amsterdam” and “Up Against the Wall” off Writer’s Block. It features a somber tone, chamber-like percussion, and their signature witty love-inspired lyrics, such as “You untie me as if I were a shoelace.”
But for the most part, it seems like the trio is doing what they can to move far away from “Young Folks” while maintaining the catchy pop hooks. The obvious hit on the record is “Nothing to Worry About,” which is, to say the least, toe-tapping, but its children’s choir refrain lays heavy contrast against the bitter lyrics, like “Beggar tune, why always so negative? / If you have problems, why don’t you go solve them? / Beat me up, at least you won’t be out of touch / If you’re such a poet, Use your tongue and show it.”
My favorite track is “I Want You!,” which might have the most guitar on the entire album. It features another member on vocals, bassist and keyboardist Björn Yttling, whose adorable Scandinavian accent is significantly less snotty and more charming than Peter Morén’s usual sound. Its instrumental break is lush with rain-sticks and dreamy guitar riffs suitable for a Saturn commercial. “Lay It Down” is a close second, if for no reason other than its understated presentation of aggressive lyrics—“Hey, shut the fuck up, boy / you are starting to piss me off.”
The entire record is heavily percussion-driven (see “I’m Losing My Mind” and title track “Living Thing”), which, while interesting, leaves something to be desired compared to the full-bodied Writer’s Block I’ve listened to for the past two years. What made “Young Folks” such a magical hit was its one-of-a-kind usage of understated percussion that felt more quirky than bare—but I guess it’d be a little too obvious to lay down another track with whistling, right?
To sum it up, the entire record has somewhat of a Peter Gabriel feel, with funky hard-driven bass and some synthesizer thrown in for good measure. The final track encompasses the feeling of the entire record, featuring dreary vocals and Depeche Mode-style synth and drum machine—it’s honestly a pretty low note to end on, and leaves me desiring to just switch to one of their older, more uplifting records. This definitely a more mature release from PB&J, but I think it would have suited them better to never grow up.
