On this night, Hecuba summoned to Hotel Cafe with tales about food and babes in Estonia, and a super intriguing music video by El Perro Del Mar starring two overly-tan strong men who call themselves The Golden Power. The men lift each other like magnets, often moving very slowly, trailing sparkles. The song, “Change Of Heart,” showcases El Perro Del Mar’s best features: relaxed, classy, romantic vocals and a stylish moonlit mood. Despite the title, all the songs Sarah Assbring wrote for album Love Is Not Pop sound a lot like “love pop.” Living for love, sacrificing for love, love for breakfast, love for dinner, lovey love love—which she explains on her website:

I knew from the beginning I was going to do an album of love songs but as I was far from in an amorous state of mind at the time I realized, I couldn’t write anything that would be pretending I still believed in love. I wanted to though. Desperately. And upon reading the lyrics to “Heavenly Arms” I realized he’d find the way to express this dark and desperate fight for love to survive against all odds. Although time and space had come between it – you keep fighting for it until the end.

Overall slower and less dancey than fellow Swede Lykke Li’s music (they have a split 7 inch**), but the two share temperament and a keen fashion sense. I was surprised and delighted when Lykke Li emerged at Hotel Cafe and sang back-up on “Change Of Heart.” She sang high and snapped her fingers. I wished for a latte in a cool ceramic cup, imagining the Cafe’s brick walls became side streets.

Opener Hecuba’s performance peaked on the red-curtained stage several times. Isabelle Albuquerque was asked to please stop climbing the house piano. A man ate a piece of cake and the lanterns shivered above. I dug a new song about modern, upbeat, love (“You keep me modern, You keep my upbeat…” that crescendos maniacally into laughter, and a few interludes—one about touching and feeling, “I just want you so bad…”

It was a evening full of love songs.

—Daiana Feuer
**The split 7 inch contains El Perro Del Mar covering Isley Brothers/Aaliyah’s “At Your Best (You Are Love)” and Lykke Li’s version of Wendy René’s “After Laughter.”

Finland might be great for strange death metal and Iceland for ambient trip-hop, but look no further than the other white Northern country for pitch-perfect pop that caters to a wide palette of tastes. Peter, Bjorn and John are no exception, and Saturday night at Club Nokia, the group celebrated their 10 years together by strutting their incredible range.

On November 21, 1999 in Stockholm, Peter Moren, Björn Yttling and John Eriksson had their first rehearsal, apparently after deciding to forgo giving their band an actual name. Their 2006 album Writer’s Block put them on the map (or at least the U.S. map), and this year’s Living Thing followed up on the same catchy-pop roots while adding a harder-edged feel.

The concert’s seemingly endless openers included San Diego band Lights On. They were commendable for doing an almost unsettlingly good Strokes impression, and because the lead singer was comfortable enough with his sexuality to wail on a tambourine for two of the songs. Another was fellow Swede El Perro del Mar, a.k.a. Sarah Assbring, who accented her ‘80s-esque tunes by dancing around in an oversized flowered blazer and hoop earrings like a new-wave nymph. She wasn’t bad, but she was more of a wind-down than a ramp-up.

Peter, Bjorn and John kicked it off with “Lay It Down,” from their newest album. It was somewhat jarring to hear the diminutive, baby-faced Moren, in his starched shirt and suspenders, singing “shut the fuck up boy, you’re starting to piss me off.” It was a far cry from the softhearted lyrics of some of their Writer’s Block tracks, but the audience was into it, bouncing up and down on the balls of our feet, not sure what we were starting to get pissed off about.

Like their past hits, most of the tracks from Living Thing feature scraping, slamming percussion and a consistently upbeat energy level. Between the hollow taps and eerie space noises, you’d think PB&J were alternately welding metal and stomp dancing, but it works somehow.

The special guests were a highlight of the show. For “Young Folks,” Stockholm singer Lykke Li jumped in to sing with Moren about how they “don’t care about the old folks,” because they’re so good at whistling. The LA Ladies’ Choir also joined onstage to lend their voices for the childlike high-pitched chanting in “Nothing To Worry About.”  It had the potential to sound creepy, but it was pleasantly siren-like.

The older material they played was a little less experimental and less interesting for it. Fortunately the group compensated by tearing up the stage, acting more like an ‘80s hair-metal band than three Swedish boys in suits.

Moren worked up a frothy sweat running back and forth across the stage, brandishing his guitar like a gun and faux-shooting the audience in time with the beat, supplied with tireless vigor by Eriksson. Bassist Yttling stole the show, stomping around aggressively and plucking his bass with another guitar or sliding it along the microphone. He was a sound-effect machine, effortlessly making the mouth-maracas “chuh” noise heard prevalently in tracks like “The Chills.” At one point, it seemed like he controlled the strobe light with his clap and the drumbeat with the flick of his pointer finger. The effect was, all together, cooler than the fjörds of Göteborg.

—Olga Khazan

This video is one of the coolest things ever. EVER! Don’t disagree. Disregard your preconceptions about men with spray tans and no body hair, and allow yourself to marvel at the wonders of the human form’s power without prejudice. Hecuba sent us the above video for El Perro Del Mar’s song “Change Of Heart.” They’re playing a show together at Hotel Cafe. I don’t think the Hungarian body-builders will be there, but that’s ok.

Hecuba just returned from Europe. Peep them on Estonian TV:

Download: Peter, Bjorn and John Mixtape

Peter of Peter, Bjorn and John put together an exclusive mixtape for us that’s become one of our favorites so far. They’re in L.A. for just one night, but you can keep this little batch of gems forever and ever.

01. El Perro Del Mar
 “Gotta Get Smart” (from Love Is Not Pop)
“She’s supporting us on this tour and I really love her new album. The funny thing is it’s almost better live. The record is kind of electronic and produced, but live she and her great band makes it feels fresh in an organic way with guitars and drums. This song is Fleetwood Mac-y in the best possible way.”

02. Nino Tempo & April Stevens “I Love How You Love Me” (from Where The Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968)
“I just got the boxset Where The Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968. And it’s amazing! Every song is better than the one before! I thought I was tired of ’60s music, but I’m not at all now! This duet mixes a sweet pop-composition with bagpipes (!) and fuzzy guitar. Fantastic!”

03. Eggstone “Marabous” (from Vivé La Difference!)
“This Swedish pop trio has never officially split up, but their last record came out in ’97. They were a big influence on us as teenagers and when we started the band. They were also a trio, doing energetic punky live-gigs versus more produced records. So that is a similarity. Per from the band will produce our next record, so I had to revisit their music and it still sounds good. This is a bittersweet beautiful pop song.”

04. The Feelies “Slipping Into Something” (from The Good Earth)
“We’ve been covering their classic ‘Fa-Ce-La’ recently, but this great rave-up comes from their second album. Classy shit!”

05. The Fabulous Wailers “Tall Cool One (from Live At The Castle)
“This is pure and gritty old school rock ‘n’ roll. We should hire a saxplayer for our next tour!”

06. Helene Smith “I Am Controlled By Your Love” (from Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label)
“Found this soul nugget on one of the amazing Numero collections. Really heart-wrenching.”

07. William Bell “I Forgot To Be Your Lover” (from the Complete Stax/Volt Singles)
“More well-known but equally powerful soul. I love this! This is a song that rappers keep on sampling so we are in good company!”

08. Bob Marley “Mr. Brown” (from Exodus)
“Vintage Marley. So good! So groovy! I love the dubby bassy mix!”

We weren’t able to get a hold of everyone in Southern California who is observing Record Store Day tomorrow, but we did ask a few of our favorite local stores what sort of special things they’ll be doing. If you aren’t at Coachella—or if you want to sneak away—be sure to go out tomorrow and get the something you can’t get off the Internet. (We recommend the This LP Crashes Hard Drives compilation, a joint effort between L.A. RECORD-loved labels like Sublime Frequencies, Light in the Attic and more!) And remember—as the good folks at Poo Bah in Pasadena remind us all, every day can be Record Store Day. List compiled by Steven Martinez.

AMOEBA RECORDS
12 NOON TO 6PM: T-shirt silkscreening from Family Industries! Make a $5 donation to one of Amoeba’s Green Charities (Sierra Club Angeles Branch or Conservation International) and Family Industries will silkscreen one of several cool designs on the spot onto a tee of your choice (courtesy of American Apparel).
1 PM: DJs Wendy and Lisa!
5 PM: DJ Babu!
ALL DAY: Limited-edition vinyl releases from Sonic Youth, Beck, Jay Reatard, Elvis Costello, the Smiths, Flight of the Conchords, Leonard Cohen, and so many more! Plus a limited-edition Record Store Day vinyl compilation featuring UNRELEASED tracks by Willie Nelson, Q-Tip, Franz Ferdinand, MGMT and more!
AMOEBA RECORDS, 6400 W. SUNSET BLVD., HOLLYWOOD. AMOEBA.COM.

FINGERPRINTS
NOON: Crystal Antlers live set!
2 PM: Listening party for Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life!
5:30 PM: The Bird and the Bee live set!
7 PM: Matt Costa live set!
ALL DAY: Limited-edition releases from Arthur Russell, Akron/Family, Bad Religion, Cold War Kids, Jesus Lizard, Lykke Li and El Perro Del Mar, MC5, Sonic Youth, Jay Reatard and more—plus the awesome This LP Crashes Hard Drives compilation!
FINGERPRINTS RECORDS, 4612 E. 2ND ST., LONG BEACH. FINGERPRINTSMUSIC.COM.

FATBEATS
In-store performances and signings from Houseshoes (FatBeats LA), Inka One (Boombox LA), Kutmah (Sketchbook, Dublab), Shafiq Husayn, Chikaramanga (Tres Records, Shibuya Club DJs), Yotah (Shibuya Club DJs), Jedi, Mona Lisa, J1 and more to be announced! Plus 10% off all items all day!
FATBEATS, 7600 MELROSE AVE., STE. J., LOS ANGELES. FATBEATS.COM.

FREAKBEAT RECORDS
10% off records and over 100 limited edition titles will be available!
FREAKBEAT RECORDS, 13616 VENTURA BLVD., SHERMAN OAKS. FREAKBEATRECORDS.COM.

ROCKAWAY RECORDS
Limited exclusive Record Store Day releases and storewide sale—discount to-be-announced!
ROCKAWAY RECORDS, 2395 GLENDALE BLVD., SILVERLAKE. ROCKAWAY.COM.

STREET SOUNDS
DJ sets (line-up to be announced) and 10% off all items all day!
STREET SOUNDS, 7704 MELROSE AVE., LOS ANGELES. STREETSOUNDS.COM.

VACATION VINYL
Limited exclusive Record Store Day releases and possible live guest TBA!
VACATION VINYL, 4670 HOLLYWOOD BLVD., LOS FELIZ. VACATIONVINYL.COM.

VINYL SOLUTION
10% off new records and 25% off used records!
VINYL SOLUTION, 18822 BEACH BLVD., HUNTINGTON BEACH. MYSPACE.COM/VINYLSOLUTION.

El Perro Del Mar “Jubilee”

El Perro del Mar @ The El Rey
Demolisten LIVE @ Pehrspace
Destroyer / Devon Williams @ Troubadour