When it comes to music, I can honestly say: I’m a simple girl. I like whistling. Whistling makes those who hear it want to whistle in return. And when the tune you are whistling is as light and airy as it is in “Young Folks” well then, you’ve got a number one hit on your hands. It is decidedly so that Peter, Bjorn, and John and their whistling wonder are the best things to come out of Sweden since ABBA. Because they were so good at selling the lyrics, the tune, and the entire carefree attitude that the song evoked, well, you just want them to repeat it. You want them to come up with another song that’s just as happy and just as carefree. And chalk it up to artistic stubbornness or artistic ineptitude, but the band is not going to repeat it…. much to my dismay (and the rest of America).

Yeah, I’m an easy sell. Most of us ADHD Americans are. We like it fast and we like it fun. We liked “Young Folks” and felt cool when we listened to it. We even felt YOUNGER. I had a preconceived notion of what to expect from these chaps from Scandinavia and when "Lay It Down" blasted into my ears I got annoyed. An entire song saying “Hey, shut the fuck up, you’re starting to piss me off” sent me into a fit of telling Peter, Bjorn and John to shut the fuck up right back, so, if that’s the reaction they were going for with this new album, then they succeeded.

Peter, Bjorn and John formed in Stockholm in 1999 and took their first names to create the band. Peter Moren plays the guitar and harmonica, Bjorn Yttling plays the bass guitar and keyboards, and John Eriksson plays drums and percussion. All three of them sing and whistle. It took the band seven years of playing together to become a hit in America. The song that made them a hit? 2006’s “Young Folks.” A song that will be ingrained in our hearts forever. It’s just a feel good song. And yet, with their new album Living Things, you get the sense that the band is trying to do whatever they can to make you forget their whistling and start taking them seriously. And you know what, I admire their efforts, but I try as I might, I just didn’t like this album. When they were whistling, I DID take them seriously. I loved them. And that past love really made me want to love this album. Really.

Now, now, before you raise your eyebrows at such a scathing review, I’ll say that for some people this will be a beautiful and artistic endeavor. Many avid music junkies have more refined tastes than I do and to each his own. But let it be known that I desperately tried to love this album. I listened to it again and again, hoping it would get better with time, or it would speak to me in metaphors, or that there was a symbolic meaning to “Hey, shut the fuck up man”…but there wasn’t. Now I appreciate well-placed profanity in the right situations. I really do. I’m not a prude, but a song needs to have a certain something to get away with those kinds of demands.

The album begins with “The Feeling”, it’s simplistic, it’s got a beat, you think in the beginning that this song is going places, and then it goes nowhere. I kept waiting for the beat to pick up, the other instruments to join in, and they never did.. Its repetitive lyrics just hung in the air like an empty feeling. Is that the feeling they were going for? Maybe. Maybe I just don’t get it. I’m willing to admit that this is the case.

The second track, “It Don’t Move Me” starts out with a hopeful and hip beat, a heavy and old organ sound and a Depeche Mode type of nonchalance. The song has potential. While it’s not bad, there isn’t anything memorable about it. I know that the band was going for minimalism here. Very few extras were used in the making of the songs, but maybe, for once, this just didn’t work. I started wondering if I had gotten everything I needed to get my taxes done... while listening to this song.

Not a good sign.

“Just the Past” is a decent song. It has a lighter feel, sweet keyboard and drum combo, you could definitely slow dance to it in the school gym and the lyrics are saccharine and a bit sentimental, “Tell me how do I get to know you? You untie me as if I were a shoelace.” But again, there is no big finish here, it slows down and goes a bit dark and I think most listeners will be unsure how to handle it. I know I was, I just kept looking around and shrugging my shoulders to the people in the park. I wanted some sympathy for the review I knew I was going to write.

Track four, “Nothing To Worry About” has a little child choir joining in on the beginning and then adds a dash of electronica. Overall, it’s a good and catchy song. You’ll either love the kids or you’ll think they are screaming and you’ll cringe. I don't know why, but I just pictured a whole choir of kids that looked like that freaky child from "The Grudge". Yes, this is where my mind goes when I'm not being motivated to give the lyrics more of a listen.

The title track, “Living Things” felt a little like listening to Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Feet” in ultra slow motion. Lots of the same sounds, and yet, it is pulled off heavy and cumbersome where Simon was light and effortless.

The album sounds is reminiscent of some 80s electronica, beats, and angst. It might just suit those of you still wearing acid washed jean jackets and sporting a mullet. Or it could be the perfect addition to someone who’s feeling a bit heavy and slow, or it could be that some of you are such fans of “Young Folks” that you’ll give this album some credit because of past genius. In any case, it might be worth a listen for the perfection of the percussion.

Track List

1. The Feeling
2. It Don't Move Me
3. Just the Past
4. Nothing to Worry About
5. I'm Losing My Mind
6. Living Thing
7. I Want You!
8. Lay It Down
9. Stay This Way
10. Blue Period Picasso
11. 4 out of 5
12. Last Night