Peter, Bjorn & John

There are no deceptions in the name Peter Bjorn & John, they are no Bens Fold Five or Cocteau Twins, the band does have three members and they are called Peter Bjorn and John - Peter on guitar, Bjorn on bass and John combing his drumming with effects. Those who were enticed to the Roadhouse by their perfect summer song ‘Young Folks’ might feel as though they’ve been pulled in on false pretences though as that top pop tune is just one facet of a varied set. Still, they shouldn’t have gone home disappointed.

Perhaps deliberately ironically, the open with ‘Roll The Credits’, Bjorn’s only lead vocal of the night. The voice is lost in the mix but the backing is lush, made up of shimmering guitars fast, wrist-joint-defying drumrolls.

John also gets one tune to sing, ‘Start to Melt’, but other than that it’s Peter who gets the limelight, starting with ‘Let’s Call it Off’, their other proper mainstream friendly song. His voice is somewhere between Neil Finn and Glenn Tilbrook and his performance is much more of a front-mans than that of his bandmates. He is more intense, throwing hand shapes while singing which highlights his apparent reluctance to play his instrument whilst at the mike. This means that the songs are driven by some sterling bass and drum work with short little guitar riffs thrown at the end of each line.

There’s plenty of chatting to the audience, however confusing it might be – first we are thanked for turning up on a Monday (it’s Tuesday) and then we a spoken to in Swedish, although this is helpfully interpreted as an instruction to the mixing desk for “less echo”.

‘Paris 2004’ is, as you might imagine, their love song. Buoyed by an electronic bell riff, it draws yet more Squeeze comparisons as Peter’s voice is allowed to shine, although his range is tested in the next track as he struggles with the high pitched chorus.

‘Young Folks’ is everything you’d hope it to be. There’s no rhythm guitar at all on the song and freed from his instrument, Peter scales the monitors and appears to look for a gap in the ceiling to climb into. Live and stripped of production, Bjorn’s bass is the funkiest thing this side of George Clinton and it’s not a total surprise to discover that he has a jazz collective as a side project.

‘Defects on my Affection’ again features some magnificent military drumming as the song switches back and forth from soft vocal and near inaudible percussion to frenetic guitar, before ‘Up Against The Wall’ gives them the perfect ending. It’s over 7 minutes long on the album ‘Writer’s Block’ and is extended here. It’s a natural closer as it climaxes with a jerky duel between lead and bass guitars, the two musicians stood face to face matching each other strum for pluck before attempting to get some feedback and disappearing offstage.

Bizarrely, this short promotional tour comes before the album is released. But when it finally arrives on 14 August, you’d be well advised to search it out. ‘Young Folks’ is only a taster of what these 3 are capable of.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.