Peter Bjorn And John
Writers Block
V2/Shock


Surely Young Folks must be the feel-good hit of the Northern hemisphere summer. You know - that song with the whistling that has a sweet '60s feel and is full of happy twee singing about "Folks".

Now if you presumed that 'Writers Block' was going to be an album full of Young Folks, you'd be horribly disappointed, but you'd probably be disappointed if you got an album that did all sound like their big single (why would you want an album full of whistling?) For one thing, the female voice on that song is Victoria Bergsman of The Concretes and Young Folks is the only track she sings on.

The rest of 'Writers Block' is also pop gold, it's just quite different from the aforementioned brilliant single. After the intro that starts the album, the opening track is a noisy guitar affair. Objects Of My Affection sounds more like they've been listening to The Jesus And Mary Chain than The Beach Boys, as they tell their philosophical tale of a man searching for his true self.

Amsterdam sees Peter Bjorn And John (PB & J) venturing closer back to Young Folks territory. The traces of their Swedish accents are enticing, as is the melody, but this song does begin to grow tiresome in time.

Start To Melt steps back into the indie shoegazer mould of pop. It's almost as though PB & J can't make up their mind about what era or genre they want to draw their music from, yet the frenetic journey they draw the listener through somehow holds together perhaps by their skill for writing melodies.

Paris 2004 has vocal traces of Elvis Costello's strained vocals ala (Oliver's Army) while The Chills steals crazy drum beats from the back catalogue of The Bloc Party.

I have no idea why Peter Bjorn And John would title this album 'Writers Block' because this is the most natural and loveable pop record I've heard all year.

Scott Berry