Peter, Bjorn & John preview
Peter, Bjorn & John
Metro, Chicago
Thursday, April 23, 2009
If you didn’t get the chance to whistle with Peter, Bjorn & John’s ubiquitous “Young Folks” in 2007, don’t worry: The silly Swedes give you an opening on this year’s Living Thing (Star Time).
It’s not completely obvious – this is the trio’s fourth album, after all, and they know how to vary a theme. But following the distinctly lonely, robotic opener “The Feeling,” “It Don’t Move Me” nips contentiously at their Coachella anthem’s heels. Following that strangely comfortable surprise, grating numbers like “Nothing To Worry About” and “Lay It Down” betray any good feelings their unofficial U.S. debut might have generated. A strange adherence to electronic beats feels oddly contrived, while “Living Thing,” well, there’s a wrong way to be influenced by Electric Light Orchestra . . .
The title track’s failure is particularly upsetting because, at heart, PB&J are Beatles fanatics, and ELO were one of the most successful perversions of the Fabs’ sound. On their Stateside return, they sound caught between rehashing their own past and recreating another’s – still stuck on basically what’s happening in “Young Folks.”
Chairlift open.
— Steve Forstneger
Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly
