First Aid Kit

The Lion’s Roar (Redeye)

For two Swedish sisters born on the cusp of the Clinton administration, First Aid Kit comes soaked in traditional custom. Second album, The Lion’s Roar, builds on sacred ground – rugged country and fertile folk as fresh as it was originally conceived. “Emmylou” arrives as a love song searching for “Gram” or a “Johnny, too.” A gentle bass pushes “This Old Routine” through amber guitars, and as a song about monotonous domesticity, it conjures a beautific wilderness to get lost in. Purple mountain majesty, amber waves of grain, from sea to shining sea; for a duo who’s first trip to the States came only a couple years ago, they sound woven into the geography. The Lion’s Roar lacks gravitas, but that will come with time and heartbreak. The soul, candor, and the way they sing “darling,” that’s the hard stuff, and it’s scarcely sounded more gorgeous. (1:15pm, Honda stage)

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This article appears in October 12 • 2012.

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