‘The Lion’s Roar’ is the 2nd album by First Aid Kit, two sisters from the south of Stockholm known to their parents as Johanna and Klara Söderberg, and what a record it is. The band first shot to fame in 2008 with a Youtube cover of Fleet Foxes’ Tiger Mountain Peasant Song and in those years they’ve come a long, long way. Haven’t we all?.
The band initially signed to Rabid Records in their native Sweden to release their debut record The Big Black & The Blue. Meanwhile Witchita Records may or may not have sent a memo to their army of A&R staff to find a female version of Bright Eyes. If they did then they got what they wanted, only better.
The second album by the Söderberg sisters is a joy to behold – from start to finish. A record full of lush melodies, of charm, of eyelid flutters (vocally speaking), a record of confidence beyond their years (the girls are 19 and 22) which should have a fleeting feel to its sound but has as assured a country-folk-indie sound as you’re ever likely to hear, even from Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, who makes an appearance on ‘King Of The World’. It’s a record that, with the held of Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis, has made the lead from campfire guitars to a fuller band sound, compared with their debut.
Lyrically it’s on the darker side of life, or “bittersweet” as Klara (the younger of the two) likes it to be known as. ‘Emmylou’ namechecks name-checks the likes of Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, June Carter and of course Miss Harris but it recognises the sadness in the lives and art of these heroes whilst noting that “the bitter winds are coming in and I’m already missing Summer, Stockholm’s cold but I’ve been told that I was born to endure this kind of weather”. The lyrics may sound like the tale of two downtrodden young girls surrendering to misery but there’s a lot more to it than. This record works despite those lyrics, despite the gloom and their country-inspired sound has given rise to a stoic feeling. A feeling that this won’t get them down. Watch this band soar to great heights with this album. You’ll struggle to hear a better record this year.
‘The Lion’s Roar’ is out now via Wichita Records. Catch the band on tour in November.
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Swedish troubadour The Tallest Man On Earth has announced details of his forthcoming album and has released a track, ‘1904, available to listen to at Rolling Stone’s soundcloud page.
The album is titled ‘There’s No Leaving Now’ and will be released on 11th June via Dead Oceans Records. Recorded in his home studio in Dalarna, Sweden during the dark winter months at the end of 2011 and start of 2012, his 3rd album is at turns stark and haunting, joyous, wry or reverent, with Kristian Matsson’s wordplay and deft guitarwork front and center.
The first recordings from The Tallest Man on Earth surfaced in 2006 via a self-titled EP released on the Swedish independent label Gravitation, which was then followed by a full-length, ‘Shallow Grave’, in 2008 to much acclaim. In early 2010, Matsson signed with Dead Oceans and released his second album ‘The Wild Hunt’ and its follow-up EP ‘Sometimes the Blues is Just A Passing Bird’ which took him to an even greater audience, appearing at international festivals like Coachella, Green Man, and Roskilde as well as appearing on Later with Jools Holland, and a sold out show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire as well as supporting Bon Iver on tour.
The Tallest Man on Earth will be touring throught the rest of 2012, heading to the UK to play various festival shows as well as a gig at the Hackney Empire on 3rd July.