Category:
Roots / Pop

Try if you like:
Bright Eyes, Fleet Foxes, Joanna Newsom

Johanna and Klara Soderberg are First Aid Kit, a prodigious sister duo being hailed as the next great addition to the retro Americana movement currently housed by the likes of Fleet Foxes and others. They've also drawn comparisons to Joanna Newsom, they sing songs about Emmylou Harris and June Carter, and they've covered Patti Smith. So who are they? The disparate influences fall into place when you hear Conor Oberst's vocals on 'King of the World', and realize the album is produced by his Bright Eyes cohort Mike Mogis. Like Oberst, First Aid Kit effortlessly wear many hats, and they pay homage to their idols not by aping them, but by sounding as if they grew out of the same era. 

The knockout track on The Lion's Roar, the band's second full-length album, is 'Blue'. With a captivating melody and a plinking glockenspiel, it has all the makings of a Patsy Cline country classic. And they seem no less confident on darker material, like the haunting 'Dance to Another Tune', which builds slowly into a rousing climax before lilting away with ghostly "ooh ooh"'s. 

With both of the Soderberg sisters being under 22 years of age, you'd have to think The Lion's Roar is just a small sample of what they're capable of, which is a very promising prospect. They've already released one of the finest albums of this young year, and one that won't sour with repeated listens.