Peter Bjorn & John
Writer’s Block (Wichita/V2)Something about this Stockholm trio’s third album of folky pop taps into the inner hipster, the part of all of us that is cigarette-thin, has artfully tousled hair, and a healthy appreciation of irony. Plug in Writer’s Block, and the paunch disappears, the cubicle melts away, and a Pabst materializes in the hand. How else does one explain the inner joy buzzer pressed by the icy-cold detachment of “Young Folks,” featuring former Concretes frontwoman Victoria Bergsman? Sure, it’s got whistling, and it’s a love song of sorts, but it’s not exactly warm and fuzzy, which is, of course, what makes it so attractive and listenable. “Paris 2004” is slightly more intimate, but the fourth wall is broken by giggles at the sweetly mangled enunciation of “eashother” by those adorable Swedes. The bulk of the album is eminently danceable, too, with “The Chills” as the standout moneymaker shaker. The bed of maraca effects and glimmery keyboards evokes an introspective herky-jerky shimmy that still appreciates the tune’s dark tones. Booty-shaking and navel-gazing: This, friends, is the height of irony, and with this album, PB&J earn themselves the mantle of hipster poster boys. Do they stock Pabst in Sweden? (3:30pm, Dell stage)
This article appears in September 14 • 2007.