PETER BJORN AND JOHN – GIMME SOME

The Swedes are taking over. Peter Bjorn and John broke the international pop barrier with their ubiquitous Young Folks single in 2006, after which another two albums slipped innocuously by before this, their sixth, landed in a frenzy of blogging and leaked tracks. Drummer John Eriksson captures the vibe simply: “we originally planned to make a punk rock album, but listening to it now it’s definitely a pop rock album.” The raw energy and ballsy old-school production are there, but the intrinsically nice, melodic Swedishness of the trio keeps the album in a very fun place. Dig A Little Deeper’s chorus might be construed as art school wankiness but reaches us as a kind of naïve and perfect cheesiness: “all art has been contemporary: dig a little deeper”. Second Chance stamps out the underlying surf groove of the record, a gaggle of indelibly catchy hooks and Tarantino suave and Eyes kicks off a string of mid-album tracks that float closer to that punk rock sound. With Gimme Some PB&J calmly assert themselves as being at the forefront of the new Swedish wave, making it an invasion to look forward to.

***1/2