By Jodi Root

It all began with that damned whistling. Like everyone else, it was the upbeat twee sounds of 2007’s pop hit “Young Folks” that brought my attention to the Swedish trio Peter, Bjorn and John. While “Young Folks” took shopping malls and car/iPod commercials by storm, PBJ were eventually tagged by the general public as a “one-hit wonder.” Well those people obviously never listened to 2007’s debut release Writer’s Block in its entirety. Still, even with such strong tracks as “Objects of My Affection” and “Let’s Call it Off,” my iPod and attention span eventually strayed elsewhere anyway.

Fast Forward to 2009—PBJ recently released their follow-up Living Thing which has all but abandoned their former sugary sweet pop vibes and have since transcended into a more dark, (if possible for a Swedish pop band), grittier and experimental direction. The whistling of “Young Folks” has advanced to “Nothing to Worry About”’s children chanting chorus as well as the profanity packed, yet still ironically dancey, “Lay it Down.”

The sound has changed, and loyal fans have noticed—whereas the former fans of commercial appeal have not—giving Living Thing thus far lukewarm to moderate reviews. I’ll be the first to admit, my eager anticipation for the latest release was killing me. When I finally gave the record the full start to finish—I unintentionally grouped myself with the “Young Folks” crowd. Sure, the two singles were poppin’, but what the hell was the rest of this record? Ignorantly coughing it up to boring filler, I shelved the release and only finally began to appreciate it as a grower after piecing together the tracks one by one thanks to iTunes shuffle.

I had meant to check this trio back at SXSW this past March, but thanks to an influx of margaritas and Budweiser tallboys, this option was pretty much tossed out the window. So as soon as I caught word they were swinging by the Metro, I was out of excuses. It was time to check these dudes out. And you know what? I’m really glad I did.

Following the ambient dream pop sounds of Chairlift, PBJ took the stage for an eager crowd at 10:15. The sold out audience crowded up to the stage, looking even more desperately hip than an American Apparel catalog. Illuminating shades of blue and warm red orbs floated amidst the fog machines, making it extremely difficult to get a decent photo, but at the same time setting the stage and feel for a pretty sweet set.

PBJ focused mostly on their new material, opening the night up with “Just the Past.” Additional new tracks included the clap happy dance number, “It Don’t Move Me,” the cuss-plugged single, “Lay it Down,” title track “Living Thing,” and of course, the ridiculously catchy “Nothing to Worry About,” (sans gang of self-assured kids, sadly). Older beats included my personal faves “Amsterdam” and the especially crowd clappy closer, “Objects of My Affection.”

All of this and two other older songs (slipping my mind—“Start to Melt” and “The Chills,” perhaps?) done and out in a 45-minute window. While the hipsters swayed, half-ass cheering, a few overexcited teen girls in the front kept the majority of crowd participation up. (Cheer louder honey! They might just invite you back on their tour bus!)

Knowing full well that the night wasn’t over—(What—no “Young Folks”?!), the trio didn’t disappoint with their encore set. I stuck around through what I assumed its entirety and was not let down. Lead crooner Peter Moren introduced his fave song from the new record, the dreamy “Stay this Way,” which led into the inevitable “Young Folks,” (crowd went bananas, of course), and transitioned into the melodic oldie “Up Against the Wall.”

I gotta give it to them, while PBJ may have slacked it upon crowd banter and conversation—they didn’t mess around, and rocked a solid, non-stop hour hybrid of past and present crowd favorites alike. These dudes proved that not even writer’s block can kill a living thing.