Living Thing

Stockholm’s Peter Morén, Björn Yttling, and John Eriksson formed this indie-pop band in 1999 and spent the next several years honing its craft by the way of relatively under-the-radar EPs and full-lengths. Then, thanks to 2006’s whistle-laden sparkler “Young Folks,” the Swedish trio suddenly found itself on the lips of tastemakers everywhere. With this success tucked neatly in its back pocket, Peter, Bjorn, and John mostly focused on individual endeavors before unveiling 2009’s Living Thing which true to its name plays out like a living, breathing work of art. (In fact, “Blue Period Picasso” finds the group personifying a museum painting.) All told, it’s the most New Wave-leaning collection in Peter Bjorn and John’s catalogue — from the rubbery stomp of “Nothing to Worry About” to the kinetic pulse of “It Don’t Move Me” to industrial-style breakdowns on harmony-washed “Just the Past.” Still, the trio displays indie-pop mastery, ranging from precious serenading (“I Want You”) to seething anthem (“Lay It Down”), and shades of John Lennon’s soulful, vocal honesty appear on the sparse, finger-snapping ballad “Stay This Way.”