(Wichita / Shock)

Peter sans Björn or John

Peter Morén is the titular ‘Peter’ of Peter, Björn & John, the Swedish trio responsible for making whistling cool again. Don’t expect anything like Young Folks on here, though: Morén indulges his wintry folk side on this album, leaving the pop elements with his band, as opener Reel Too Real demonstrates. For those with short attention spans, Reel Too Real may be the litmus test for this album, given that it represents both the album’s charm and its shortcomings: there’s a lovely acoustic line reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel, Morén adds his familiar and effective (but not sublime) vocals, and when you think the song’s about to wrap up, Morén shifts key, changes the melody, and adds in pompous church bells ŕ la Tears For Fears’ Head Over Heels. It’s a grating moment, one similar to the moment in Le Petit Coeur where Morén tries to hit a high note while singing in French and strains his voice. This lack of polish makes sense: Morén has named his album after F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last, unfinished novel, and here he deliberately explores what it might mean to fail. Not that The Last Tycoon is a failure, exactly, but it’s an album forever poised on the edge of failure: exactly what Morén wanted to achieve, no doubt, but a quality that means The Last Tycoon is merely a good album, not a great one.

***˝

CHAD PARKHILL

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