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We figured that by now it might be a little late to write about Writer's Block, the 2006 album from Swedish trio Peter, Bjorn and John, but when we saw the great Chuck Eddy's claim, when discussing Idolator's Jackin' Pop Poll, to have never heard of them, we figured that there might be a couple of you out there in the same boat. (Hell, even sophisticated urbanites such as ourselves didn't catch on to this record until late fall).

We're not at all proficient at describing music, but we will say that the main component is, as seems to be the case with pretty much everything these days, The Beatles. (You can almost hear "Baby's in Black" at the core of every song.) That said, a variety of loops, processed sounds, and other elements make this more than just your standard power pop homage; the standout tracks "Young Folks" and "Amsterdam" manage the neat trick of sounding immediately familiar yet completely new while both being incredibly catchy. (You will not get the whistled melody of "Young Folks" out of your head, oh, ever.) As it stands now, the album is only available as an import, which is a shame: We can't think of an album we enjoyed more in the last year that we're still listening to daily in the new one. Shell out the cash or rip it from a friend, but trust us, this is something you're pretty much guaranteed to enjoy. (The band plays at Bowery Ballroom on January 30th; sadly, the show is sold out.)

Peter Bjorn and John

Update: Writer's Block will be released domestically (with a 6-track bonus disc!) on February 6th. You can pre-order here. And you should.

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