PETER, BJORN AND JOHN

Darker Days 7/10

swedish indie-pop songsmiths continue to deliver

After going down the full-fat pop production route on 2016’s Breakin’ Point, Peter, Bjorn And John rely on their own formidable songwriting chops for this eighth studio album. But something clearly rubbed off from those collaborations, as sparklingly produced, clean-cut and sweetly tuneful songs such as “Living A Dream” and “Gut Feeling” are underpinned by potent tap-dancing grooves, creamy falsetto and expertly crafted pop-rock hooks as if Paul Epworth or Greg Kurstin were there at the mixing desk. But when they get softly psychedelic on the head-swimming “Velvet Sky” or the epic “Heaven And Hell”, you’re reminded that underneath the radiofriendly sheen there are maverick aesthetes still quietly messing with our heads.