First Aid Kit: 'Stay Gold' Review!

Picture yourself at a small festival, it’s a beautiful day and the sun is beaming down on your face. As nice it all sounds, something is definitely missing…Music to match this kind of day. This is where the harmonic folk band First Aid Kit comes in. The perfect and powerful, Swedish female duo are storming festivals such as Greenman and Lattitude with their gripping music from their new album ‘Stay Gold’ alongside with their bohemian edge. On first listening, the bands distinctive vocals make you believe the duo are from Nashville, the home of country music.

First Aid Kit has the capability to make you sit down and focus only on their touching and emotional songs. Whether their songs are delicate and slow or upbeat and joyful, the band can find a way of fitting deep, insightful words into their music. The girls show their country influences in their songs, especially the love song ‘Emmylou’. The song mentions country idols Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons as well as Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. As if powerful lyrics aren’t enough, at all times the sisters keep their harmonic vocals strong throughout all of the two albums.

‘Stay Gold’ has more of a powerful and loud approach to you, unlike the duos previous album ‘The Lions Roar’, where only 3 people performed on stage. The new album includes a 13 piece orchestra in songs such as ‘A Long Time Ago’ and ‘Cedar Lane’. It gives the album a more gripping and satisfying sound to it, but also works with the lyrics of the songs to make us feel the emotions flowing through the album. First Aid Kit and their orchestra have even played Paul Simon’s ‘America’ when he won the Polar Prize. Simon stood up mind blown at the song being played to beautifully and powerfully in front of him.

Throughout the album, the songs stay at a relatively slow pace, emphasising the meaningful lyrics and melodic vocals. Then all of a sudden, a quicker beat enters and your eyes start to brighten. ‘Heaven Knows’, the second to last song on the album, takes folk back to its original roots with its simple chords, uplifting beat and catchy words.

I recommend this album with all of my heart, because as the saying goes…’Folk finds everyone in the end’.