Spring Break
Peter Bjorn, John change course on 'Living Thing'
Joshua Aromin
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Entertainment
04/23/09 - Peter Bjorn and John is famous for making a song with more whistling in it than "Patience" by Guns N Roses, but on the band's latest album Living Thing, there's no whistling at all.
Instead, there are 12 songs with different styles that sound like a combination of bands Wolf Parade and The Postal Service mixed with elements of hip hop mid-1980s pop.
Living Thing begins with the song "The Feeling," which features vocals comparable to those of Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug. And while "The Feeling" sounds like it came right out of the indie pop how-to manual, the beat of "Nothing To Worry About" sounds like it took a page from Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl"- minus the spelling lesson on the word banana.
Living Thing is a fast-paced album that is highly dependent on the beats of each song as the percussion drives the tempo through the album. While it lacks any song that sounds anything like the band's one hit "Young Folks," the album is good in a different kind of way.
Released at the end of March, Living Thing doesn't sound like a desperation album that tries to milk previous success; rather Peter Bjorn and John strives to move ahead in several different directions. The songs don't sound like carbon copies of each other, but instead are all variations of what types of music Peter Bjorn and John can produce.
For many bands, having a constantly changing sound is a bad thing and deviating from a sound that produces established success can lead to disaster, but Living Thing is the exception, and because of PBJ's commitment to that constant change, Living Thing is also an appropriate name for this album.
Peter Bjorn and John isn't trying to make every song sound like "Young Folks" and other than the accents and mannerisms in the band members' voices, Living Thing sounds nothing like the overplayed whistling anthem.
Sometimes the guitar takes over. Other times it's the synthesizer. And then it's the vocals. The construction of each song is different - the band seemed to actively try to distance itself from being a one-hit wonder, and with Living Thing, they did that.
While Peter Bjorn and John probably isn't destined for U.S. superstardom. The band's fifth release is nothing to dismiss as a disappointment.
And although "Young Folks" had listeners everywhere brushing up on their whistling skill, Peter Bjorn and John isn't trying to leave that as its final legacy.
Instead, the group is breaking out all the odds and ends. And the band is doing so in a strange fashion that somehow works in making a pretty satisfying album.
Instead, there are 12 songs with different styles that sound like a combination of bands Wolf Parade and The Postal Service mixed with elements of hip hop mid-1980s pop.
Living Thing begins with the song "The Feeling," which features vocals comparable to those of Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug. And while "The Feeling" sounds like it came right out of the indie pop how-to manual, the beat of "Nothing To Worry About" sounds like it took a page from Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl"- minus the spelling lesson on the word banana.
Living Thing is a fast-paced album that is highly dependent on the beats of each song as the percussion drives the tempo through the album. While it lacks any song that sounds anything like the band's one hit "Young Folks," the album is good in a different kind of way.
Released at the end of March, Living Thing doesn't sound like a desperation album that tries to milk previous success; rather Peter Bjorn and John strives to move ahead in several different directions. The songs don't sound like carbon copies of each other, but instead are all variations of what types of music Peter Bjorn and John can produce.
For many bands, having a constantly changing sound is a bad thing and deviating from a sound that produces established success can lead to disaster, but Living Thing is the exception, and because of PBJ's commitment to that constant change, Living Thing is also an appropriate name for this album.
Peter Bjorn and John isn't trying to make every song sound like "Young Folks" and other than the accents and mannerisms in the band members' voices, Living Thing sounds nothing like the overplayed whistling anthem.
Sometimes the guitar takes over. Other times it's the synthesizer. And then it's the vocals. The construction of each song is different - the band seemed to actively try to distance itself from being a one-hit wonder, and with Living Thing, they did that.
While Peter Bjorn and John probably isn't destined for U.S. superstardom. The band's fifth release is nothing to dismiss as a disappointment.
And although "Young Folks" had listeners everywhere brushing up on their whistling skill, Peter Bjorn and John isn't trying to leave that as its final legacy.
Instead, the group is breaking out all the odds and ends. And the band is doing so in a strange fashion that somehow works in making a pretty satisfying album.
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