The Best Thing I Heard this Week-Peter Bjorn & John

Most will remember the song "Young Folks," the hit from their 2006 record Writer's Block.[1. Please note that the preceding track on that album, "Objects of My Affection," was just as good, if not better.] I'm guessing that far fewer people have listened to PB&J's [2. Yeah, that's an unfortunate acronym.] 2011 release, Gimme Some. Which is unfortunate, as Gimme Some is a more consistent, listenable, and well-rounded album than anything they've done before.



This album is not complicated, so this post will not be either. This is the best power-pop record you're going to hear this year (unless something ridiculous happens in the next couple of months). The lead track, "Tomorrow Has to Wait" is a microcosm of the rest of the record--fast, strong, and tight. Even when things get a little darker on tracks like "Down Like Me," the music doesn't take a break for the lyrics. It's not as creative as some of the stuff done by bands like the New Pornographers, but it doesn't need to be. There's not a bad moment on this record. Go listen to it now.

Photo by Daniel Morrison

First Thoughts: A.C. Newman's Get Guilty

Much like the Shins' 2007 effort, Wincing the Night Away, A.C. Newman has released an album in Get Guilty that is most likely inferior to his previous solo effort, The Slow Wonder, and his work with the New Pornographers, but that is a step above almost everything else in the genre. And while we are doomed to judge artists in comparison to previous efforts, there is nothing on this record to prevent an above average listening experience, even if the album lacks transcendence.

Despite not hitting the highs of The Slow Wonder (most notably Miracle Drug and Drink for Me then, Babe), Get Guilty finds Newman at his most lyrical. To open the album, he quips "There are maybe ten or twelve things/I could teach you/after that, well I think you're on your own/and that wasn't the opening line/it was the tenth or twelfth." This assertion of a lack of new ideas or wisdom may be true at times, and it does show at points in the album. However, there are moments like on Changeling, wherein Newman summons his best Elvis Costello, where it is also apparent that Newman can still teach us a thing or two we though we knew about power pop. Prophets and Submarines of Stockholm sound like they could have come off of any New Pornographers album (and that is a good thing).

In the end, if you're a fan of the New Pornographers and/or A.C. Newman, this album will be a nice treat. However, for those curious about Newman, I would start with The Slow Wonder, or his work with the New Pornographers (namely Mass Romantic and Electric Version).