“The paintings around me/ they don’t understand me/ I’m a bit too early/ I’m seen as development,” Peter Morén sings on “Blue-Period Picasso,” as if to justify the growing pains that plague Living Thing. The problem with Peter Bjorn & John’s fifth album is not that it’s “too early,” though, but that it’s still overshadowed by Writer’s Block, the Swedish indie-poppers’ highly lauded, ironically-titled third album. Whereas “Young Folks” will probably be the only song Kanye and the general consciousness will ever associate to their name, Peter Bjorn & John could be doing worse. Much, much worse.
Such praise may seem backhanded, but keep in mind that Writer’s Block will likely make its fair share of decade-end lists come 2010; it has the staying power that their sophomore album, Falling Out, can’t begin to touch. So when the group released the reticent, largely instrumental Seaside Rock last year, it seemed a wise way to cleanse the expectation palette of an increasingly fickle, demanding audience. Unfortunately, now that the group has returned to form in ’09 (making proper “pop music”), their sudden shift in direction will likely leave members of that audience baffled, dismissive, and even disappointed.
But before we reset our sights on Writer’s Block II, can we at least acknowledge the strengths of this new release? Björn Yttling’s production sounds better than ever (further proof that his pristine work with Lykke Li last year was no fluke); Peter Morén still knows how to write a great melody (“Just the Past,” “Lay it Down”); there are no whistle-based hooks (fantastic!). Essentially, the group tries to do more with a lot less: traditional guitars and drum timbres are almost entirely absent, opening up a greater pocket for Yttling to work with.
The gamble seems to work on the first three tracks, even beautifully so on “Just the Past,” a languid, minimal churner that features a supremely catchy ascending line in the pre-chorus and metallic Kraftwerk hammering in the chorus proper. But the second half doesn’t come out as well, like on the milquetoast “Stay this Way” and “4 Out of 5.” Single-candidates like “Lay It Down” and the title track even rest on shaky ground, potentially annoying listeners after one too many double-clicks.
Consider the bigger picture though: here’s a pop group that’s becoming more experimental as they go, which after a success like Writer’s Block is an increasingly rare phenomenon. Lest we forget the career trajectories of Weezer, Liz Phair, and, most recently, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, perhaps Living Thing can be appreciated on a more basic level—for the spirit of its shortcomings. After all, no one ever expected Picasso to follow Les Demoiselles d’Avignon with Guernica.
