With all of the obscure and confusing album titles from past artists (remember Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water?), it's hard to imagine why some musicians give their albums the titles they do.
Swedish trio Peter Björn and John's Writer's Block is yet another inexplicably titled album. With its buzzing, well-blended mix of '60s power pop, new age synth lines and thoughtful lyrics, this album reveals that this group suffers from no such affliction.
Formed in 1999, Peter Björn and John is the artistic venture of Peter Morén, Björn Yttling and John Eriksson. Peter Björn and John, a name chosen for its simplicity (since, according to the group, "band names are often ridiculous"), demonstrate their ability to incorporate each of their individual musical tastes into different tracks on this album. Although all but one song on the album was written independently of the other bandmates, listeners will find one cohesive, enjoyable and catchy album in Peter Björn and John's Writer's Block.
On their sophomore album, the indie pop trio avoids the pitfalls of other "power pop" artists by straying from overcharged power chords formulas, and focusing instead on synthesized sounds and simplistic instrumental variation. After a 16-second title track/prelude, "Object of My Affections" officially opens the album with a gentle explosion of guitar and wailing synth, coupled with Eriksson's military-like drumbeats. This track, less like the power pop sounds of their first album and more like Arcade Fire's ambient tunes, features Morén, whose snarling vocals recall Hamilton Leithauser of the Walkmen as he ponders life: "The question is, was I more alive then than I am now?/ I happily have to disagree."
The trio follows their powerful intro with the UK hit "Young Folks." In departing from the subdued tones of "Object of My Affections," Peter Björn and John create the album's catchiest track by far. Not only is the cheerful, whistled melody a delight to hear on its own, but it's irresistible when paired with the popping, bouncing bass line, which propels the song through its emotional highs and lows. Morén once again leads the vocal charge, but he is also joined by fellow Swede Victoria Bergsman, former frontwoman of the Concretes. Her seductive rasp and Morén's gentle growl mesh perfectly together in this call-and-response hit.
The album's strong opening, however, is soon halted by the boring track "Amsterdam." Penned and sung by Yttling, "Amsterdam" abandons the ambient synth and varied percussion found in the two former tracks and instead embraces lagging bass and guitar work. Yttling's lazy vocals simply follow the repetitively descending guitar, bass and backup vocal lines to create an awful yet unfortunately memorable melody.
The Swedish trio soon redeems itself for "Up Against the Wall," the album's most melancholy song. Reminiscent of Modern English's "Melt With You," "Up Against the Wall" interlaces simplistic guitar and percussion lines with pointed oohing and other diverse forms of percussion to create a haunting, slightly depressing track about a hopeless relationship. Despite the bleak subject matter, Eriksson and Morén establish an unforgettable beat at the song's conclusion with their aggressive percussion and guitar lines.
Peter Björn and John come up with yet another set of infectious beats with the '60s-influenced "Let's Call It Off." Invoking the late work of the Beach Boys, the trio incorporates vocal harmonies into its stretching guitar and bass-laden verses. Morén's sliding, isolated guitar work further brings to mind the carefree feeling of that laidback musical era.
After large doses of ambient indie power pop, Peter Björn and John wind the album down with "Roll the Credits." Although the following track, "Poor Cow," is the album's official closer, its lack of percussion and mediocre lyrics make it mere filler compared with the rest of this entertaining album. In name and musical merit, "Roll the Credits" serves as the album's closing track. Morén sings, "Let's pull the curtains down and leave" over a constant Walkmen-like drum roll, light synthesized bells and ambient "oohs" and "aahs." If this album is evidence of what the trio is capable of when it does encounter musical obstacles, the possibilities are endless when the group is truly at the top of its game. With the simple instrumentation and deft synthesizer work, Peter Björn and John make Writer's Block a well-conceived, well-blended indie pop album.
