First Aid Kit -‘The Lion’s Roar.’ (Wichita)
First Aid Kit are the sisters Klara and and Johanna Söderberg, who first came to prominence when they were only in their teens. This is their second album, the follow-up to 2010’s The Big Black & the Blue.
Though they hail from the southern suburbs of Stockholm, the sisters know their Americana roots. To this end, the album was produced by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, and the album’s final track ‘King Of The World’ was co-written by none other than Connor Oberst.
Despite what you might take from the above, there’s none of the excessive Bright Eyes droning on, nor is this country sung in the style of Abba. This album isn’t pioneering, but right from the opening title track, this is a delightfully warm album, that has had several plays already round these parts. And if the chorus of Emmylou doesn’t melt your heart ‘I’ll be your Emmylou and I’ll be your June/And you’ll be my Gram and your Johnny too’ well, you either have no heart and/or know absolutely nothing about country music. But they do also name-check Stockholm in the song, so they do have a sense about where they have came from, geographically as well as musically.
Fancy something different from run of the mill music? Why not give First Aid Kit a listen?
***1/2
The Lion’s Roar is released by Wichita on January 23.
