The past few years has seen Canada dominate the hearts and shelves of music fans everywhere; but spearheading the latest Scando faction in the War of Indie-pendence is a triumvirate of pals from Northern Sweden. Ladies and gents, meet the comma-shunning trinity of Peter Bjorn and John. Though Writer's Block is their third album in seven years of existence (following 2001's eponymous debut and 2004's Falling Out), their success has thus far been low-key and confined mostly to their home country and the bedrooms of clued-in musos. Taking an austere approach to songwriting, which is done largely independently (The Chills is the sole collaborative effort here), Writer's Block is a caboodle of woozy, lo-fi indiepop. It encloses elements of folk, Britpop and experimental alt-rock that, when brought together, create a charming fluency that's hard to dislike. There's a magnetism within the Spector-esque/Mercury Rev-lite alliance of Start To Melt or the faded 60s-Kinks-glamour of Let's Call It Off; the strident bassline of Up Against The Wall is recollective of The Cure at their nihilistic finest, while Objects of My Affection's jangly acoustics evokes shades of The Housemartins. Their finest hour by a country mile, however, is the adorable Young Folks; a track with the deftest beat, the catchiest whistling and the most effortlessly off-kilter melody of the summer - and that's before the gravelly fragility of The Concretes' Victoria Bergsman makes an appearance. The smorgasbord of influences on display here is unabashedly peddled - Elvis Costello, The Beatles, even contemporaries such as Spoon, Dungen and The Concretes; yet Peter Bjorn and John's songwriting and musicianship embodies a chemistry that sets them apart from protagonists past and present. Writer's Block is an easygoing album with lyrical depth, varied instrumentation and total, undeniable charm; if this is what Peter Bjorn and John deem an impediment, the proliferation is surely worth salivating over.
