[Reaper16]

15. First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

I’m a sucker for: a.) harmonized female vocals, and b.) pagan shit. These two Swedish sisters give me all of that that I could ever want. This album is a collection of tight, folk-country tunes. Some of them, like the title track sound more like European folk. Some, like the transcendent “Emmylou” take their cues from old American country. Others still mix the two: “Wolf” is a pagan chant cum Native American song, and “Blue” is the happiest, jauntiest song to ever feature the line “now you’re just a shell of your former you” as its chorus. The primary draw above anything else is the voices of these two singers. They can seriously belt these songs out. The last track, “King of the World,” featuring Colin Oberst, annoys the shit out of me. But all the other songs are top-notch. This is going to remain a frequent listen well into next year.