Tuesday 31 March 2009
Try whistling this
Why so blue, boys? Its a bloody fantastic record!
Is rebellion against one’s past part of human nature? As evolving beings, do we instinctively abandon that which has brought us success in the past for alternate approaches to reach our goals? Hell, no. We are creatures of habit, and we hate change, and don’t you dare change a thing about that which I hold near and dear to my heart of else you’ll have me and my fury to contend with! I get that way sometimes, you know. However, I rarely ever feel that way about music. If an artist doesn’t show some growth and evolution from one album to the next, I’m likely to get bored and find something else to listen to. If I wanted to hear the album the recorded two years ago, then I’d go and listen to said album.
Odd then, that my first reaction to Peter Bjorn and John‘s Living Thing was, “This doesn’t sound anything like Writer’s Block“, considering that the singles aside, I really didn’t get into that album the way others did. I liked it enough, and I know that if I go back and listen to it now, after having let it be for more than a year, I’d find a lot there that I can appreciate. What I’m getting at is that I don’t have an affinity for the sound of PB&J circa Writer’s Block, so my initial reaction to the new album’s departure from their successful indie-pop sound had me scratching my head, because, in a nutshell, I think it’s bloody brilliant.
Living Thing amps up the percussive electro-funk and darkens the corners some, adding a gravitas that belies their Swedish pop roots. As if to further distance themselves from the fame that “Young Folks” brought them, “Lay It Down”–the first sample of music released from the album–featured the radio-friendly chorus, “Hey, shut the fuck up, boy!” On the title track, Peter Morén wails, “You don’t have to look me in the eye, you don’t have to love me!” while the spare, Afro-pop arrangement propels the song into an unexpected dreamlike world where fantasy must face reality in a battle to the death. By song’s end it’s unclear just which is victorious, but you’ll be falling over yourself to hit the repeat button and fight the good fight all over again.
Last year’s instrumental album, Seaside Rock, set the stage for this latest set of songs, effectively cutting ties with that infectious whistled melody, and inspiring the trio to delve back into their fascination with electronic music. Living Thing should silence the naysayers who cried “sellout” after the success of “Young Folks”, and those who’ve never given the band enough artistic credit. Living Thing, cold, dark, and brooding, it an alluring beacon on the musical landscape of 2009, drawing you in with it’s charm and humanity.
Mp3: Peter Bjorn and John “Nothing To Worry About”
Facebook: Peter Bjorn and John
Myspace: Peter Bjorn and John
Buy: Peter Bjorn and John Living Thing
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