You know, that Afro-Brazilian-Kraut-Punk-Loungy stuff...

After yesterday's ranting, here is something fresh! And no whistles or Kanye West! I promise!

So I cannot wait to see how Peter, Bjorn and John managed to mix the above styles into a cohesive album. The Swedish trio are set to release their next album after Writer's Block this fall. There is actually a separate and proper follow up to Writer's Block also in the works. This release instead will be an instrumental album that sprang from ideas during the recording sessions of Writer's Block.

"Some songs are African/Brazilian music, then there are a couple of Kraut/punk, and some are lounge songs. The backgrounds are all bass/guitar/piano or bass/guitar/drums, but the melodies are played on different things."

Peter Moren

On the track below, I like how the guitar contrasts with the crunchy synth stabs. (Actually hearing the song again, it reminds be a Polynesian version of Portishead's Machine Gun.) The music definitely sounds exotic. If this is a hint of what the album is going to be, I'm all for it. The album is entitled Seaside Rock. Read about what else the prolific Peter Moren is up to at Billboard.

MP3: Peter, Bjorn and John - Inland Empire (ysi)
MP3: Peter, Bjorn and John -The Chills (Thieves Like Us Remix) (ysi)


I actually really enjoy the original version of The Chills (go back to the album and take a listen to it). Thieves Like Us seem to speed up the music by slowing down the vocals. (I know it sounds strange.) This other (2/3's Swedish) trio are also up to new things as well. They have a new EP out today called Your Heart Feels. The title track is their current single. The melody is catchy, maybe if they just tweak their vocals a bit. It's definitely better than (oh God I really hate it..) Drugs In My Body. (And it probably wasn't even the song, but how the crowd reacted to it when it came on.) Moving on...

MP3: Thieves Like Us - Your Heart Feels (ysi)

**Update from Pitchfork:

It turns out that Seaside Rock isn't a completely instrumental album after all. According to a press release written by PB&J themselves, "As homage to Peter Bjorn and John's respective hometowns they wanted to feature the voice and dialect from each of the three areas. So apart from the instrumental soundtrack to the lonely childhood of northern Scandinavia you can also hear three monologues about some sort of seaside. The stories are read by a real saxophone player from Norsjö, a grandfather from Vika and the hairdresser Siw from Piteå."