The Lion’s Roar
First Aid Kit- 2012
I’m normally not a fan of kicking off an album with the title track- I generally like trying to figure out why an album is called what it is. However, First Aid Kit kicks off the album with the title track- and owns it.
Generally speaking, the album is folky, with just the right amount of pop sensibility to make it accessible to just about anyone. If you like Mumford & Sons, or The Head and the Heart, you’ll probably dig this. Lyrically, the subject matter varies from poetic descriptions of landscapes and nature’s beauty, to songs which tell stories of love and drama. Oftentimes, the image-based lyricism is used to illustrate internal emotions that have been felt by the artists. Vocally, there are honestly some misses- every once in a great while one of these girls falls just flat. But, that’s ok. It’s an honesty in the music which is greatly missed in current day’s tendency to overproduce music with auto-tune. Whatever post-production work was done on these recordings is tasteful- this album really has a sort of stripped-down feel to it. It almost makes me think of watching these girls sing live at a county fair in Biloxi. Then again, I think that’s what they want you to think…
As far as content goes, this album is fairly typical of the folk scene which is (thankfully) finally receiving mainstream attention. Now, with some mainstream attention comes some elements of pop music- say what you will about this… The acoustic guitars are clean, and the rhythms are simple. What really gets me is the strings, horns, and a hint of airy flute in the background. The addition of these strings and in some cases, horns, adds a tremendous feeling to the album. And, those harmonies. Damn. Those harmonies. Sometimes two voices just are meant to be together. These girls’ voices are those two voices. Go figure- they’re sisters.
The ballad “Emmylou” is definitely one of the strongest performances on the album. It’s a slower song, which really allows these voices to straight up radiate. Throw in those huge strings I was talking about earlier? Forget about it. It’s funny, because in this song, she wants to be like June [Carter]. And you know what? That’s exactly what this CD, on the whole, remind me of- an old-time folk or country album. The old-time country and folk feel is a tremendous breath of fresh air in today’s music. Vocals are frequently over-compressed, and you can’t hear the artist breathe. However, the whole album feels naked- in all the right ways.
“Blue” is way too pop-y for this album. It just really seems to not fit in with the rest of the more ballad-like folk songs it’s nestled in the middle of. It’s good, but it took me by surprise the first time I listened through this album. It starts off with a chime-y, peppy, and almost sickening repeated riff. It’s almost annoying. Really, it’s the only miss on the album. To be fair, 9/10 songs being awesome is much better than most other artists can even dream of achieving on a record.
It’s actually difficult to say where one should start with this album. I would actually start by listening to the entire album (if you can) from front to back. There was actually a lot of thought put into the track listing of this album- each song (with the exception of “Blue”) really flows from one to the next. Tracks are connected musically, lyrically, and emotionally in such a way as to make this an album that you really can listen to front to back.
The two young sisters who comprise First Aid Kit are of Swedish origin. Which is kind of funny, because this album is purely and distinctly American in sound. I really cannot begin to explain how incredible these voices are. In fact, Rolling Stone stated that this might be the best sung song you’ll hear all year, and, though it’s only February, I think they may be right… Compared to other female vocalists and songwriters in similar veins (Lana del Rey?), these girls are far above and beyond what else is on the market. This is actually one of the strongest female vocal performances I’ve heard since June Carter. I really can’t get over how perfectly this album captures that old-time country feel…
In short, this album gets 9.5 stars out of ten. The only reason that this album loses that half of a star is because of “Blue.” Really, it’s a good track, I just don’t like how it fits (or doesn’t…) with the rest of the album. Normally I would advocate downloading an album for free, but for God’s sake, buy this album. I guarantee you will not be disappointed in the slightest. The album is absolutely stunning- lyrically, acoustically, and technically. In a word, it’s beautiful.
Top Tracks: Emmylou, To a Poet, and In the Hearts of Men.