If The Beatles had little brothers, and they had a baby with Depeche Mode and The Gorillaz, it would probably end up sounding something like the new Peter Bjorn and John record. Peter Bjorn and John released its fifth studio album this week. The album is called Living Thing and lives up to the name. This is the type of record that grows on you.
The lyrical poetry strikes a chord with the deeply sentimental. The Swedish band has pushed boundaries once again by creating insanely catchy tunes. The first single off the new album, “Nothing to Worry About,” has a young children’s choir screaming out the lyrics. DJs are already having a blast remixing this one. Think, “Dirty Harry” by The Gorillaz.
“Losing My Mind” is very seductive to the ears of any Depeche Mode fan, but later on the track trails off on an airy note.
The title track off the record “Living Thing” is actually a cover of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Livin’ Thing.” Peter Bjorn and John’s version of the song makes it sound extremely tribal, almost as if they were trying to pull off faking Sting or Peter Gabriel. This is that Afro-punk style that everyone seems to be so fond of.
Some of the guitar licks are very U2-esque like in “I Want You!” The track that seems to be the winner is “Last Night” which is very reminiscent of Radiohead but not quite there This is a completely different realm for this type of band; a minimalist beat with intelligent electronica sprinkled about. “So why this change of heart?/ We’re losing our minds/ Didn’t think things could change this fast,” they sing, while the synthetic drum crashes. This one already has the DJs working hard in the remix factory.
This is the hottest Indie record of 2009 so far. Whatever “Indie” is.
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