Peter Bjorn and John: Before 2006, these three names strung together could only mean a weird “walk into a bar” joke involving two apostles and a famous tennis player.
But that year, another Peter Bjorn and John rocketed into the world’s conscious. The Swedish indie pop group scored a ubiquitous hit with “Young Folks.” PB+J mania spread faster than swine flu, helping land the group a stage at the 2007 Lollapalooza and, later, a recording with Kanye West.
The group returned this year with a new album, “Living Thing,” that, while still heavy in hooks, shifted away from the sunny sound of its predecessor. Hear the eerie children’s-chant chorus and heavy percussion on the lead single “Nothing to Worry About.”
Despite the shift in style, PB+J isn’t going to be one of those bands that refuses to play its smash hit.
“We will probably play ‘Young Folks’ when we are 75 years old, and that’s fine with me,” drummer John Eriksson said in an e-mail interview before the group’s return to Lolla this weekend. “It’s a great song, and we also have a lot of other great songs without whistling if we don’t have any teeth left.”
Your latest album doesn’t seem to be a rejection of the style on “Writer’s Block,” but it definitely seems to have a different sound. How do you balance shifting your style while still making songs that people enjoy?
Sometimes, I wish that we were a band like AC/DC, with a great sound that we could keep on playing with. But, apparently, we are another type of band, and I think we feel that it is our duty to keep on exploring our sound, and the fun thing about doing so is that we could actually make an album that sounds like AC/DC.
The song “Nothing to Worry About” debuted on Kanye West’s blog. He did sample “Young Folks” on a mixtape, and you’ve performed together. Why’d you go that route?
Most people who write, perform and produce music are open to all kinds of stuff, and I don’t think that there is such a big difference between the music of Kanye West and PB+J. We dig his music and he digs our music. The strange thing might be the blog release since I’m still not sure what a blog really is. But maybe Internet is the new radio.
You’ve been on tour with fellow Lolla band Depeche Mode. What’s that been like?
So far, it’s been fantastic. Depeche Mode and their crew have been super nice and generous and also the audiences have been really into our music. People are singing along, clapping and digging, which we didn’t expect would happen. And the catering is very, very nice. So it feels like we are going to gain some new fans and some new extra kilos during this tour.
What bands would you like to see at Lollapalooza?
Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Animal Collective and Deerhunter.
Is there anything you’d like to do while you’re in Chicago for the festival?
I would like to eat something.
Andersonville is Chicago’s Swedish neighborhood; ever checked it out?
No, we haven’t been there yet. I hope they have Pitepalt, which is some kind of monster gnocchi from my hometown Pitea in northern Sweden.
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KENT GREEN IS A REDEYE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR.
