Panels of The Story of Smokey Bear comic book, 1969
The Swedish folk-pop duo First Aid Kit first caught some attention through a YouTube video that featured the two girls covering a Fleet Foxes song in a forest. At the time, sisters Klara and Johanna were 15 and 18 years old respectively. Now its two years later, and they have released their first full-length album The Big Black & the Blue, a surprisingly mature collection of original folk songs that makes the most of the Söderberg sisters' talent for harmonies. Opening a capella with "In the Morning", First Aid Kit blend close harmonies that at first brings to mind the Everly Brothers, but the woozy melodic turns the song takes are more reminiscent of the girls' beloved Fleet Foxes and that band's progenitors.
The arrangements on The Big Black & the Blue stick to traditional folk, maybe a little too much, but the Söderbergs' vocals prove they can bring even the most pedestrian melody to life. Sometimes Klara's vocal takes on a conversational drawl that brings Jenny Lewis to mind and other times it's clear as a bell, and Johanna's ability to match her harmonies to her sister is possibly the best weapon in the First Aid Kit arsenal. Their lyrical skills are still developing - the simplicity of their words can be charming, as on the band's most recent single, "I Met Up with the King", or it can be pretty grating, as on the album's first single "Hard Believer". Lines in the latter song like, "I see you've got your bible, your delusion imagery/Well I don't need your eternity or meaning to feel free" are a little "on the nose" and make me wince. But the album has enough highlights, like the delicate "Josefin" and the lilting "Waltz for Richard", to give a satisfying listen today and an indication of great potential for First Aid Kit.
"I Met Up with the King" by First Aid Kit
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