MP3: Sailor Song

As a follow up to their EP Drunken Trees, Swedish duo First Aid Kit released their full length album yesterday on London-based Wichita Recordings. The Big Black and the Blue is an enchantingly beautiful continuation from the first time I heard them cover “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” on YouTube. The raw talent is undeniable in these girls’ voices and appreciation for it can only be heightened by seeing them in person. Even more impressive is that sisters Klara & Johanna Söderberg (born in 90 and 93) have been writing and composing material since adolescence. In a post-show conversation with them during the fall, they commented on the fact that it was Conor Oberst who really inspired them to make music. Since then their creative storm has blown their music all over Europe and it’s slowly trickling its way to the Americas. Similar to Oberst, they seem to write on subjects wise beyond their teenage years. I envision a sizable demographic of desperate housewives all over Sweden blowing out their speakers on songs like “You’re Not Coming Home Tonight.”

Both releases are now available stateside, and they’ll be touring on this album in the spring.