Peter, Bjorn And John – Darker Days

Forward thinking indie-pop from the Swedish artisans...

For almost 20 years Peter, Bjorn and John have been releasing glorious indie-pop music that has a playful bounce and slightly sombre lyrics.

2006’s breakthrough single ‘Young Folks’ features a huge chorus and catchy riff, but is a song about baring your soul to a new/prospective partner and hoping they stick around. On ‘Darker Days’, Peter, Bjorn and John have crafted 11 tracks of forward thinking indie-pop featuring hip-hop, electronica and classic rock motifs.

‘One For The Team’ kicks the album off proper, after a lullaby- esque intro ‘Longer Nights’. This is classic Peter, Bjorn and John. Tight drumming, catchy chorus and delicate melodies that slowly pull you in to their sticky web of pop excellence. The second half of ‘Silicon Valley’ is well worth the price of admission alone. Starting off as a muted and broody track it slowly skews and mutates as psych vibes take over. ‘Heaven And Hell’ follows a similar pattern, but the final two minutes sound like a lullaby for the doomed. If you have the album on loop it seamlessly mixes into the album opener ‘Longer Nights’.

‘Darker Days’ is Peter, Bjorn and John’s most immediate album to date – indeed, the songs practically explode from the speakers in iridescent brilliance. The guitars are catchy, keyboards warming and vocals full of that soaring charm that made you fall in love with the band all those years ago. This is an album made by musical artisans, who know exactly how to translate the sound in their heads on to record.

7/10

Words: Nick Roseblade

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