Peter Bjorn and John (or PB&J) are three Swedish guys who are making some of the coolest music around. Writer's Block is my introduction to their music. My copy came with a bonus CD, but I'm not sure if they all come that way.
WB is hip music with lots of opportunity to tap your feet or whistle along. I'm not a huge fan of the singing style, but the great music kept me engaged. I've listened to this album a lot this week and I really like it. It's also very well received. It's in Under the Radar's top 10 of 2006. When UtR likes it, it's often something I enjoy too. Metacritic shows it at an 82 right now, "universal acclaim."
MP3's: "Young Folks," "Amsterdam," "Objects of My Affection"
Pitchfork: "Writer's Block's sonic textures demand attention first: odd synths, overdriven bass, dreamy harmonies, rolling drums, pink streaks of guitar noise, or a foot tapping in soft focus."
Coke Machine Glow: " Despite its more fractured stylistic elements -- shoegaze smashing headlong into folk pop -- Writer’s Block emerges as one of the most complete and satisfying records of this year."
MySpace has a few of their best tracks. It's not the best quality, but this video of a stripped down version of "Amsterdam" is worth watching. The album version of "Amsterdam" is so much cooler, though. Here's the official "Young Folks" video and official "Objects of My Affection" video. Catchy man, catchy.
Lyrics...
And the question is, was I more alive
then, than I am now?
I happily have to disagree;
I laugh more often now, I cry more often now,
I am more me.
("Objects of My Affection")And we don't care about the young folks
Talkin' 'bout the young style
And we don't care about the old folks
Talkin' 'bout the old style too
And we don't care about their own faults
Talkin' 'bout our own style
All we care 'bout is talking
Talking only me and you
("Young Folks")