Young Love

By now, it's almost impossible to avoid "Young Folks," the breakout single by Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John. Coffee shops, dance clubs, college campus bookstores, hipster clothing boutiques — the tune is everywhere. Considering its whistled hook, desultory female/male vocal interplay, bongo accents, and skittery drum pattern, it's no wonder. The song is as perfect a pop tune as you're likely to come by. The big surprise is that the rest of Peter Bjorn and John's third album, Writer's Block, is almost as good. Imagine if the Beach Boys recorded in New Zealand in 1991, and you'd get a sense of the carefully sculpted-yet-minimalist vibe. (Hell, there's even a song called "The Chills," a possible winking nod to the Kiwi indie rockers.)

Producer Björn Yttling fills the songs with wonderfully idiosyncratic touches, like the shushing vocal percussion of "The Chills," the spooky synth landscapes of "Up Against the Wall," and the soothing oceanic waves of "Let's Call It Off." Meanwhile, all three songwriters sing, offering bittersweet ruminations in deadpan whispers, as when Peter Morén proclaims, "I laugh more often now/ I cry more often now/ I am more me" on "Objects of My Affection." Such pretty compositions and navel-gazing lyrics could come off precious live. If a recent KCRW broadcast is any indication, though, the band embraces righteous feedback and martial beats of predecessors like Spacemen 3 and the Velvet Underground, offering tunes that folks young and old can enjoy.