Peace In Our Time

"A Glimpse of Happiness" CDR

Series Two Records

Genre: lo-fi, bedroom pop, acoustic pop

Upssala, Sweden

Jan 7, 2009

Swedish bedroom popster Johan is the sole orchestrator behind Peace In Our Time, and his sound is of the typical indie pop lot, furnished with acoustic strums, drum machine rhythms, and unpolished but quaint vocals. At fifteen tracks, A Glimpse of Happiness is a daring enterprise for one guy from Uppsala, and at times it seems like Johan's got himself in a little too deep. After all, fifteen little pop tunes based on mid-tempo drum machine beats can only sound so different from one another. Fortunately, there are several gems on this hefty release, and listeners with fond memories of Sarah Records and its ilk will no doubt find plenty to reminisce about here. For example, mellow "Tiger" revels in its charming tweeness, plinking away with a chippy drum beat and an unmistakable bedroom melody. Meanwhile, electronic-tweaked "Hear Me Go" and "During These Days" are charming numbers with sweet little hooks. On a release where only one track makes it past the three minute mark (by three seconds), it is clear that Johan is no stranger to quaintness. These fifteen songs are somewhat similar, but they are a melodically distinguishable bunch, and a welcome disc's worth of simple, acoustic indie pop. Peace In Our Time may not be the next incarnation of The Orchids, but if this disc is any sign, Jonah is shaping up to be a promising purveyor of sweet, personal pop music.

peace in our time's myspace

75%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 15 tracks, distributed by the label, released June 24, 2008]