Peter, Bjorn and John used to be simply Peter, Bjorn and a drum machine and apparently made "some shit records." It wasn't until 1999, after meeting John and discovering their mutual appreciation of similar music, that Peter, Bjorn and John came together as a proper grown up band, with proper grown up songs. And it's only now, after the release of their third album, 'Writers Block', that the UK has decided to take notice.

Talking to a Swedish man through a crackly mobile phone is not an easy task. Although Bjorn's English is far better than it has any right to be, I am struggling to make myself heard and understood through the torturous bleeps and whizzes my phone is inflicting on the ears of the both of us. Fortunately, Bjorn is relaxed and unconcerned about such potential interview halters as not being able to understand each other.

Speaking from a Stockholm recording studio, Bjorn is happy to tell me all about the band he has invested nearly 15 years in. Or at least that’s what I think he said. Either way, I decided to continue with the interview until he hung up or my phone decided enough is enough and stopped working all together. It was difficult, but we both took one for the team.

The current new interest in the threesome is due in no small part to the release of their gorgeous single 'Young Folks'. Featuring the sublime vocal talent that is Victoria Bergsman, now formerly of fellow Swedish group The Concretes, 'Young Folks' made the playlist of Radio One and MTV. A duet in the fullest Sonny and Cher tradition, it is a track that has drifted into everyone’s head throughout the summer. A song about growing up and finding love, 'Young Folks' also features the whistling skills of Bjorn, something that has given the tune that unique quirk sometime needed to make a song stand out in the saturated world of indie-pop. Thankfully, it's catchy as well.

I ask Bjorn whether there was any commercial motivation for working with Victoria; whether the fact that The Concretes have already been a success in the UK influenced their decision to utilise her unique vocal?
"No it was not," comes the defensive reply, "we could have got someone else in if we wanted that, maybe someone like Jay-Z." However, surly Swedish sarcasm aside, Bjorn does admit that Victoria's presence on the single may have helped a bit, especially in the UK where the identification of a voice so unique and recognisable has forced people to sit up and take notice. As such, exposure has steadily increased throughout the year and Peter, Bjorn and John are having to consider the possibility of giving up, or at least spending less time, on their regular day jobs.

For Bjorn, as a producer, little has changed, except that he's working a lot more with his own band than with other people's. However, for one member of the band, touring Europe as opposed to simply touring Stockholm could come as quite a shock. "Peter is a librarian," explains Bjorn, "it wouldn’t be a surprise if he has to stop that soon." Nevertheless, although playing live is a virtual necessity to commercial success, I get the impression that perhaps Peter, Bjorn and John would be happier playing the odd little gig in their home city rather than taking their show on the road for the enjoyment of the wider world. I put it to Bjorn that he prefers spending his time in the studio environment. "Yes I do, very much, but it is nice to get out and play a bit. It is also getting more fun now that the audience know your stuff more. Maybe my feelings will change."

Hopefully for the sake of his sanity they will. A series of gigs in the UK and throughout the rest of Europe has already been planned for the next few months and Bjorn admits that he has ambitions to take the band further afield in the near future. "The priority is the album, but we'd like to go to places like Australia and the US, places we haven't been before."

For the time being though, the band are rightfully focusing on promoting their new album. The first of their three albums to be released in the UK, 'Writer’s Block' is a self-produced group of songs that evoke the same wistful sound achieved by bands like Kings of Convenience and The Concretes with the arrangement and production style of a 3 EPs-era Beta Band. Recorded in a similar fashion to their previous two releases, in that the album was funded and recorded without the aid of a record company, Peter, Bjorn and John eventually attracted the attentions of V2 who snapped up the rights to 'Writer’s Block'. Bjorn is quick to rebuke suggestions of selling out though. "It's not about the money," he insists, "it's all about people hearing our songs, it's all about exposure."

Essentially your traditional guitar-based pop, 'Writer's Block' is produced in a manner similar to many other Scandinavian albums. With the vocals low down in the mix, the listener is immersed into the entire song; they are not simply following a stand-out melody. The tracks are catchy and easy to listen to, but that is not to say they are simple. On the contrary in fact, there are plenty of little noises and sub-melodies to keep the listener hooked for much longer than on your average LP. It is also wistful and floaty, evoking the Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' at times, but it never becomes complicated or in any way a chore. It is an album for sunsets and stolen kisses, for loving and dreaming, but never for fighting.

I bring up the Scandinavian "style" and the affinity apparent between the UK and Bjorn’s homeland. Is there some kind of special musical relationship between the countries, one of mutual appreciation and respect? "I think we like UK stuff more than maybe we like American stuff. It goes back a long way. The Beatles came here first, well it was the first country after Germany, and since then I think there has always been a migration of music."

What is it about Scandinavian bands that strikes such a chord in the UK? A mutual appreciation of the guitar, of clever songs and engaging tunes, along with the guts and an environment suitable for pushing the boundaries appears to be the mutual consensus. Why then don't we have a similar affinity with the French, for example? Why are we drawn towards Scandinavia more than our other neighbours? "They don’t have good rock bands," is the blunt reply, "it is the same with countries like Holland and Belgium, they have nothing."

This may well be true, but the ability of Sweden's rock bands to sing in English and without an accent means that their music fits seamlessly into UK music scene. Lyrically, the complicated, but universal themes of confusion, longing, love and ambition float across their work. Anyone can relate to what they say. As such, however complicated Peter Moren, Bjorn Yttling and John Eriksson may well be in their heads, when they come together on record they are simply Peter, Bjorn and John.

THE SINGLE 'LETS CALL IT OFF' IS RELEASED ON WICHITAON OCTOBER 30TH.