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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Writer's Block
by Peter Bjorn And John
This third album from the Stockholm, Sweden indie-rock trio has attracted critical buzz on both sides of the Atlantic. Victoria Bergsman of the Concretes guests.
| LABEL: |
Almost Gold |
| RELEASE DATE: |
06 February 2007 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Indie, Rock |
NOTES: UK release 14 Aug 2006. The 2007 American release comes with a bonus disc.
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
91
Stylus Magazine
Writer’s Block has announced the renaissance of both pop music and love.
91
The Onion (A.V. Club)
The band has smartened up, and now it's playing to its strengths.
90
New Musical Express
By turns brooding and effervescent, but always outrageous fun, 'Writer's Block' is a compact minor classic.
90
All Music Guide
Writer's Block is the work of a band at the absolute peak of its writing and performing skill.
85
cokemachineglow
Despite its more fractured stylistic elements -- shoegaze smashing headlong into folk pop -- Writer’s Block emerges as one of the most complete and satisfying records of this year.
85
Lost At Sea
The instrumentation is superb, the record feels unforced, and the music is heartfelt.
85
Pitchfork
Their most focused and fully realized effort yet-- an album that adds an imperial hugeness to the teen noir and garage-y psychedelia of their past efforts-- and one of the better pop records we've heard this year.
85
Prefix Magazine
In the end, Writer's Block isn't a life-changing musical statement, but it is a superb collection of finely crafted pop songs.
83
Entertainment Weekly
The balance of sweet and sad is just right. [16 Feb 2007, p.76]
83
Almost Cool
An excellent third album from the Swedish trio, Writer's Block should make sure that the group remains in obscurity no more.
80
Billboard
The album is laced with spacey, distorted guitar fuzz, delicate '60s pop melodies, groovy basslines and winsome lyrics that coalesce into a unified group of songs from start to finish. [17 Feb 2007]
80
Hartford Courant
A delightful album designed to sink in over repeated listens.
80
Uncut
For the most part, this Stockholm outfit's sun-streaked, clever-white-boy pop-funk catches a season as expusitely as Air did circa Moon Safari, or as Hot Chip have more recently. [Aug 2006, p.104]
80
The Guardian
A delight, from start to finish.
80
PopMatters
It shows a group both confident, with an established dynamic, and beaming in the light of their most triumphantly appealing effort.
80
Spin
PB&J casually swap instruments and styles while carefully nuturing their ever-delicate tunes. [Mar 2007, p.88]
80
Under The Radar
A diverse exercise in how a tiny band can re-invent itself on each track to sound forceful. [#15, p.84]
70
Blender
When these Swedes get whacked by romance, they cushion the blow with a reed-kneed bedroom boogie that shimmies while evoking decades of great escapist groove music. [Mar 2007, p.141]
70
Delusions of Adequacy
The first two songs eclipse any other songs on the album, but I'm not saying the rest of the material is weak.
70
Rolling Stone
Writer's Block is one of those albums where the songs seem familiar in a good way.
70
Playlouder
If there's a main criticism of this record then it's the fact that it's not entirely cohesive.
70
Q Magazine
It walks the line between indie and pop without stumbling. [Oct 2006, p.125]
70
Mojo
While their music does have a Scando smoothness to it, its ramshackle moments recall the Beta Band more than they do Sondre Lerche, The Cardigans, et al. [Sep 2006, p.100]
70
Dusted Magazine
It’s an eminently listenable album, but there’s no need for unchecked evangelism. Just enjoy the damn thing.
60
Slant Magazine
There's lots of sunny '60s pop that was prominent on PB&J's previous records ("Start To Melt" is the most successful one here), but the group has expanded their palette and broadened their strokes.
40
musicOMH.com
Perhaps if each song were half the length, the fun, easy-listening element to PBJ's music would be more clear-cut. As it is, Writer's Block proves a real struggle.
The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 30 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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