First Aid Kit - "Ruins"

First Aid Kit is a Swedish Folk duo of sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg who have really taken off the last few years in the Indie Folk world.  Now, I've grown to enjoy this duo's music quite a bit. But when it comes to their 2010 debut "The Big Black and the Blue", I wasn't into their style right off the bat.  Personally, I really enjoyed when the duo went for a more Folk Rock sound on their later releases.  But with their debut, First Aid Kit still hadn't found their sound completely.  Now, tracks like the Country infused "Josefin" and the more Folk Rock oriented "Hard Believer" were truly great tunes that really stuck with me.  But tracks like "Sailor Song" and "Heavy Storm" were just so faceless to me.  The duo really turned themselves around really quickly though with their 2012 album "The Lions Roar".  This album was much more Folk Rock sounding and had the sisters not sounding really like any other act.  Their dual vocals were angelic, the instrumentals were charming, and there was just such an old-time beauty to all of this that was addictive.  Tracks like "To A Poet" were just so haunting, and the ladies just so happened to end the album off with a collaboration with Conor Oberst.  First Aid Kit stripped down their sound in a small way on 2014's "Stay Gold".  What I mean is, it is a little more back in that standard Folk direction they started out with, and the duo did sort of float away from the more Southern sounds of their previous album.  But the very Epic choruses and song structures continued to be a real selling point.  Plus, in a way, this album acted as a real return to form for the Folk Rock that dominated the Radio in the 70's.  Tracks like "Heaven Knows" and "Waitress Song" were just such tasteful throwbacks that I couldn't say no.  Now, I was sort of underwhelmed with some of the softer tunes here like "Fleeting One" and "Cedar Lane", but I still would listen to this album than most of what passes for Modern Folk.  So it's been a few years, and First Aid Kit are back with some of their stronger singles I've heard from them in a while.  But more than anything, I feel like they've really been working on their lyrics, not to say that they weren't solid to begin with.  But I digress, let's chat about this new First Aid Kit album.

    This album starts off with “Rebel Heart”, and to be honest it’s the sort of soft, folky intro I really was hoping the duo would avoid. This track is just sort of an OK sound for the duo.  But for me, I’m so much more into their fiery, Folk-Rock centered performances.  However, I do have to give the ladies some credit, i have no idea how but their harmonies have gotten better than ever.  Not to mention, I just lost how personal and tragic these lyrics have become, they’re truly heartbreaking!  But I sort of wish there was a little more oomph in this performance.  Not to mention, where are those amazing song structures they once broke out like it was no big deal?  Like for instance, the last minute and a half or so of “Rebel Heart” is absolutely incredible.  As a whole this intro is painfully average.  But if you’re into Indie Folk you may be much more into this than me.  “It’s A Shame” is up next, and right off the bat I’m able to swallow this so much easier.  I love the more Rock-Instrumentals thrown in with the duo’s Folk sound.  But I just get such a sunny feeling from this, that this is once again such a tasteful throwback to the Radio Rock of the 70’s.  The keyboards are a nice touch, and I couldn’t be happier to heard the duo bringing in their slight country twang.  The harmonies are on point, and even the fiery performances I’ve always loved are really back in full effect in the form of these lyrics.  “It’s A Shame” is a truly charming and powerful Folk ballad.  It’s moments like this that really set First Aid Kit apart from other Folk bands.  On the other hand, “Fireworks’ is once again very light and fluffy.  But little details like the passionate singing as well as those pounding drums and well placed guitar licks make this much more epic.  It’s this sound that honestly made me fall in love with First Aid Kit in the first place.  But it’s also moments like this that make me realize just how far they’ve come.  4 years ago, if they pushed out a tune this slow and patient it wouldn’t have come off nearly as strong.  The ladies performance here is just so heart-wrenching, and their vocals are so unbelievably passionate you can tell this really hits close to home.  And as this one goes on, I feel like some of the crescendos in the instrumentals are insane.  Well done ladies.  But that sort of upbeat, Country vibe is back with a vengeance on “Postcard”.  But the ladies end up pulling it off in such a way that this basically ragtime tune doesn’t come off cheesy at all.  It honestly is heartwarming and totally true to form the genre.  It’s such a sweet and quite frankly adorable love song from the ladies, which is something we haven’t heard here yet.  But the performances from both ladies in their own way continue to come off seriously heartfelt and fiery.  If you’re looking for some classy, throwback Folk Rock, you’re going to eat this album up. 

    It's songs like “To Live A Life” though that sadly don’t affect me nearly as much.  I love the ladies very heartbroken lyrics here as well as their stunning performances.  But these stripped down Folk tunes from First Aid Kit just come off so faceless.  I feel like this could have literally been written by any current Indie Folk singer.  Some of the harmonies are just as stunning, but I can’t help but feel like this is just so incredibly dime-a-dozen compared to some of the rest of the material here.  Now, if First Aid Kit is really interested in sticking with these very stripped down Folk ballads, this is certainly a better sound for them.  At the very least, the instrumentals have some meat on their bones and don’t sound so flimsy behind the ridiculously powerful vocals of First Aid Kit.  However, this one did take some time to grow on me, but it didn’t in a big way.  The pacing on “My Wild Sweet Love” makes it come off in that “Folk-Epic” sort of way that I crave, and the backing strings are a seriously nice touch.  This one is nothing short of beautiful and gigantic.  For my liking though, it’s these Country infused Folk Rockers like “Distant Star” that end up stealing my heart.  Something about these tunes just really brings back the majesty of the duo’s harmonies.  That, alongside with just how absolutely gigantic these instrumentals come off, make this one of the biggest and easily most memorable tracks here.  Not to mention, lyrically, this track is brilliant and it’s easily one of the more visual tunes here.  Obviously, this album is a huge step up from their last, and it does my heart good to know First Aid Kit haven’t lost it all.  Once again though, tracks like “Ruins” almost lose me completely.  Sure, this one continues to show that First Aid Kit are on top of their game lyrically.  But instrumentally, and even as far as the performances go, this sounds like it could have been recorded by any Folk band playing over the loudspeaker at Starbucks.  It’s just such a mediocre track, and outside of the truly passionate lyrics, I feel like even First Aid Kit aren’t as into this one. 

    “Hem of Her Dress” however, shows that First Aid Kit is far from done with us.  This one has such a fire to the performance of both ladies, even though it’s far from the heaviest tune here.  But they really do just sound on top of their game completely.  Not to mention, some of their vocals here are flooring, I love hearing them get a little aggressive.  Not to mention, the group-sung the chorus in the second half accompanied by all of these gigantic horns and other instrumentals, is absolutely euphoric.  What a well done late album track.  But First Aid Kit really do have issues with keeping consistent with their sound.  This album ends off with “Nothing Has To Be True”, and it’s just such a faceless track to end the album off with.  It’s a shame because so much of this album gave me such hope for the future.  But tracks like this really do worry me.  Thankfully, First Aid Kit are so great at pulling together harmonies, so at the very least it’s a pleasant tune.  Not to mention, some of the late moments at the very least bring in some more of those epic elements.  But they need to stick to THAT in their future because THAT is what’s going to set them apart.  

Rating: 7.4/10

Give A Listen To: “It’s a Shame”, “Fireworks”, “Postcard”, “Hem of Her Dress”


Genre: Indie Folk / Folk Rock / Alternative Country 

Overall Thoughts:  This very easily could have been First Aid Kit's best album.  As a matter of fact, in the moments here that are good, are some of the best First Aid Kit song's they've ever written.  All of the usual elements are here in full force, to the Alternative Country flair to the very epic song structures that set First Aid Kit apart so well.  Not to mention, I really feel like lyrically the sisters are on top of their game and writing some of their most personal and powerful tunes.  However, I do have to say some of the more stripped-down tracks here are awful, and really just so un-interesting.  It's moments like that where First Aid Kit are just so faceless, and that's going to be a problem unless they really stay away from tunes like that.  However, I have to stress, the good tracks here are really some of the duo's best.