Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John have released three albums of upbeat indie pop, notably 2006s breakthrough album Writers Block and massive single Young Folks. Throughout their career they’ve produced simple, melody driven songs with quirky lyrics, so when it was announced their next album would be a limited edition vinyl-and-mp3 only instrumental, it wasn’t clear exactly what to expect.
Seaside Rock worryingly arrives accompanied by a press release stating that “Water and Boredom” were inspirations, and that they were trying to recreate the memory of “Swedish music school orchestras from hell.” None of this would normally bode well, but as it turns out, the album is a gem.
The whole thing has a warm nostalgic feeling, and is much more inventive and interesting than it would have been predicted. There are African and Brazilian sounds, lounge style rhythms, an oriental 80s sense on Favour of the season. Opening track Inland Empire has a slight 70s cop-show feel, complete with shotgun sounds and funk guitar. There’s even a little trademark whistling on Needles and Pills. Spread throughout the album there are also three tracks which have monologues read in Swedish by “a real saxophone player from Norsjö, a grandfather from Vika and the hairdresser Siw from Piteå,” each about various seaside themes. The stories are read over an accompanying tune, (with the sound of seagulls, tea being sipped and the tide lapping at various points in the background) and it lends the whole album, that of an old Scandinavian soundtrack, to a quirky forgotten movie.
The sheer range of percussion instruments featured alone should be enough to confuse, (calypso, bongo, what sounds like a radiator) but to their credit it works. The childhood orchestral feel works best on School of Kraut and At the Seaside, evocative tracks that, along with the cover art of a faded river scene, really drive this melancholy sentiment home.
Apparently Peter Bjorn & John are already working on another album, which will be the ‘proper’ follow-up to Writer’s Block, which is unfortunate language because this moving and fascinating release shouldn’t be just consigned to be just a stopgap.
Peter, Bjorn & John- Objects of my Affection
