Klara and Johanna Söderberg, AKA First Aid Kit have been gathering fans apace throughout 2009, since the release of their ‘Drunken Trees’ EP in February (originally released on The Knife’s Rabid label and picked up for the world by Wichita Recordings).
They now announce their London show on 4 Mar 2010 and unveil their wonderful debut album, The Big Black and The Blue on 25 January 2010.
Union Chapel, London 4 Mar 2010
Tickets on sale 9am Fri 13th Nov at First Aid Kit Concert Tickets - First Aid Kit Tickets and Tour Dates | Live Nation UK
With their formative years having been spent drinking from the fountain of American Classics; everything from Buffy Sainte-Marie
(you can hear their glorious revamped version of ‘Universal Soldier’ here)
to the likes of Conor Oberst, they have shaped not only their use of a second language (remarkable in itself) but also their way with song structure and song writing. Something is clearly working very well as audiences have been falling at their feet, enraptured by their shimmering yet explosive voices. They had a hectic whirligig of a summer playing a multitude of festivals, with stand out appearances at Glastonbury, Field Day & Underage, Standon Calling and End of the Road festivals. They also shared a co-headline tour with Fanfarlo around the UK tour in September/October, which followed on from a string of dates supporting Slow Club.
Up until now they have been rightfully praised for their astonishing interpretations of other artists' material, such as their infamous YouTube phenomenon of Fleet Foxes ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ (currently at over 800,000 views), but First Aid Kit are now unveiling some remarkable songs of their own. The first flourishes can be heard on their debut album.
What cannot be argued with is the sweeping majesty and intricate weaving of their voices. An almost telekinetic quality that is all over this like a rousing rash. Sounding like the dreamy and spectral nieces of the Indigo Girls or Michelle Shocked coming in from the campfire to settle at the Stockholm kitchen table, the Söderberg sisters distil all of their collective influences and make them their own. It is sure to be one of the most heralded early debuts of the two (thousand) teens.
So what of the bountiful gems to be heard on The Big Black and The Blue? Well, whereas Wendy and Bonnie made a play for tripped out girl pop many moons ago, these oh-so-talented Swedes have made a play as purveyors of wise-beyond-their-years, country-tinged pop. The songs seep under the skin and claw at you. Surface playfulness is deceiving as the tracks take on a darker hue in places, but both elements work perfectly together to create a trance like quality that makes this debut offering very special. Recorded by the band at their home studio (aka “Cellar Door”), the girls wrote all the songs (and designed all artwork), with small yet purposeful flashes of drumming from friend Charlie Smoliansky adding to the stew.
From the first few strokes of an acoustic fused with those divine harmonies on ‘In The Morning’, we enter the warm and spellbinding nature of First Aid Kit’s world. After this bold opener we move into the mesmeric ‘Hard Believer’, where a real life argument on religion acts as an alternative clarion call with the urgent line: “And it’s one life and it’s this life and it’s beautiful”. The jauntiness of ‘Sailor Song’ is underpinned with driving autoharp and the classic lost love motif. The album’s highlight ‘Heavy Storm’ really indicates just how talented First Aid Kit are, with the vocal movement compelling and lovingly unfolded with a loosely jazzy swing. The fact that it was written two years ago makes it even more an embarrassment of riches, given lines like “I wish I could hold on a little longer / Still my worried stomach and calm my hunger /I wish I could believe what they taught me”.
The latter part of the album unveils more stinging highlights such as ‘Winter is All Over You’. Enveloping and richly rewarding with killer couplets to be found in its slipstream, “I saw your mother at the department store / She looked innocent like a still born”. ‘I Met Up With the King’ (sadly not about Michael Jackson on this occasion), borrows a line from Gram Parsons to marvellous effect, with the First Aid Kit surging and angry voice singing of a dispirited society. The fusion of flutes, guitar and voice on album closer ‘Wills of the River’ was inspired by the film "Into The Wild" and swirls into the ether with the final words "And the world is all alone now/While its children still sleeps, silently".
A beautiful lullaby to round out a lovingly tended debut.
These sisters are definitely doing it for themselves and taking their vivid imaginings with them, but they would be delighted for you to join them for the continuing journey of this year and beyond.
They now announce their London show on 4 Mar 2010 and unveil their wonderful debut album, The Big Black and The Blue on 25 January 2010.
Union Chapel, London 4 Mar 2010
Tickets on sale 9am Fri 13th Nov at First Aid Kit Concert Tickets - First Aid Kit Tickets and Tour Dates | Live Nation UK
With their formative years having been spent drinking from the fountain of American Classics; everything from Buffy Sainte-Marie
(you can hear their glorious revamped version of ‘Universal Soldier’ here)
to the likes of Conor Oberst, they have shaped not only their use of a second language (remarkable in itself) but also their way with song structure and song writing. Something is clearly working very well as audiences have been falling at their feet, enraptured by their shimmering yet explosive voices. They had a hectic whirligig of a summer playing a multitude of festivals, with stand out appearances at Glastonbury, Field Day & Underage, Standon Calling and End of the Road festivals. They also shared a co-headline tour with Fanfarlo around the UK tour in September/October, which followed on from a string of dates supporting Slow Club.
Up until now they have been rightfully praised for their astonishing interpretations of other artists' material, such as their infamous YouTube phenomenon of Fleet Foxes ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ (currently at over 800,000 views), but First Aid Kit are now unveiling some remarkable songs of their own. The first flourishes can be heard on their debut album.
What cannot be argued with is the sweeping majesty and intricate weaving of their voices. An almost telekinetic quality that is all over this like a rousing rash. Sounding like the dreamy and spectral nieces of the Indigo Girls or Michelle Shocked coming in from the campfire to settle at the Stockholm kitchen table, the Söderberg sisters distil all of their collective influences and make them their own. It is sure to be one of the most heralded early debuts of the two (thousand) teens.
So what of the bountiful gems to be heard on The Big Black and The Blue? Well, whereas Wendy and Bonnie made a play for tripped out girl pop many moons ago, these oh-so-talented Swedes have made a play as purveyors of wise-beyond-their-years, country-tinged pop. The songs seep under the skin and claw at you. Surface playfulness is deceiving as the tracks take on a darker hue in places, but both elements work perfectly together to create a trance like quality that makes this debut offering very special. Recorded by the band at their home studio (aka “Cellar Door”), the girls wrote all the songs (and designed all artwork), with small yet purposeful flashes of drumming from friend Charlie Smoliansky adding to the stew.
From the first few strokes of an acoustic fused with those divine harmonies on ‘In The Morning’, we enter the warm and spellbinding nature of First Aid Kit’s world. After this bold opener we move into the mesmeric ‘Hard Believer’, where a real life argument on religion acts as an alternative clarion call with the urgent line: “And it’s one life and it’s this life and it’s beautiful”. The jauntiness of ‘Sailor Song’ is underpinned with driving autoharp and the classic lost love motif. The album’s highlight ‘Heavy Storm’ really indicates just how talented First Aid Kit are, with the vocal movement compelling and lovingly unfolded with a loosely jazzy swing. The fact that it was written two years ago makes it even more an embarrassment of riches, given lines like “I wish I could hold on a little longer / Still my worried stomach and calm my hunger /I wish I could believe what they taught me”.
The latter part of the album unveils more stinging highlights such as ‘Winter is All Over You’. Enveloping and richly rewarding with killer couplets to be found in its slipstream, “I saw your mother at the department store / She looked innocent like a still born”. ‘I Met Up With the King’ (sadly not about Michael Jackson on this occasion), borrows a line from Gram Parsons to marvellous effect, with the First Aid Kit surging and angry voice singing of a dispirited society. The fusion of flutes, guitar and voice on album closer ‘Wills of the River’ was inspired by the film "Into The Wild" and swirls into the ether with the final words "And the world is all alone now/While its children still sleeps, silently".
A beautiful lullaby to round out a lovingly tended debut.
These sisters are definitely doing it for themselves and taking their vivid imaginings with them, but they would be delighted for you to join them for the continuing journey of this year and beyond.
