Home > Los Angeles Music > CD Review > Peter Moren, 'The Last Tycoon'

Backstory: As one-third of the Swedish indie rock band Peter Bjorn and John, Peter Moren has made a name for himself. But the George Harrison soundalike from Stockholm has gone it alone in 2008, with a recent EP and now this full-length debut for alt-music powerhouse Touch and Go. Can he replicate PB&J's success overseas and here in the States all by his lonesome? Possibly, if only because "The Last Tycoon" seems to have lonesome on lockdown.

Why you should care: Moren's lo-fi folk is the type of measured meditation that drives sensitive indie rockers wild, to say nothing of advertisers like Levi's, Pontiac and other crossover-minded organizations who have used PB&J songs to help sell their wares. Stark confessionals like "Reel to Real" and "Gaze at the Sky for Long" are winsome weepers practically begging to become date-night soundtracking. The more Moren strains to hit the high notes on the latter tune or the clever "Missing Link," the more his bleeding heart makes his case for him.

Verdict: If you're on the lookout for bouncy avant-folk, you might want to turn elsewhere. Moren's spare earnestness is an acquired taste. When he sings in French on the lilting lullabye "Le Petite Cour" (the "little heart," for you Anglophiles), he hypnotizes nicely. And when "The Last Tycoon" nails something approximating a tempo on "Tell Me in Time" or "Social Competence," Moren transcends his precocious lack of sonics to deliver some catchy ditties. But backbeat diehards might be left wanting when this release is over.

X-Factor: A warning to all you "Young Folks" fans: there is no whistling on this record.

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