First Aid Kit - Ruins

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1. Rebel Heart - I like this kind of harmony. The voices soar together, but it's just in snippets instead of extended segments. Oh wait. They are doing both. I think that since I started listening to First Aid Kit and The Staves at the same time that they get lumped together. That's not really fair though, I think First Aid Kit does some more things with instruments and arrangements, but The Staves really let their voices and harmonies take flight. All that to say, I really like this first track. Setting up for a nice album.

2. It's a Shame - Ooo - that first "Lately" immediately reminded me of Emmylou Harris. That offset change in a word is sometimes great - sometimes awful. It's working for me here with the twangy guitar. Oops - I know it's a shame, but I lost a couple minutes of this song due to distraction. Zing.

3. Fireworks - Oh goodie! This song is really working for me. The lyrics are working well with the music and pulling me right along. This does have that extended harmony, but then stripping everything down to just a solo singer with some simple guitar. I love it when songs pull that off when you have a strong lyrical component. Similar to a writing device in a novel or an offbeat line break that draws your attention to something important. Yea, I really liked this song.

4. Postcard - A little more upbeat start than I expected on the heals of the last song. Pretty standard country-ish type of beginning. Back to the twangy guitar and predicatable beat. In order for this to not sound like every run-of-the-mill country song, you have to have some outstanding lyrics. So far, not making the cut. Probably because this song is about all the regular tropes around a postcard. Meh. Oh no... Don't.. Yep. "kick it for me, James" - throwing to a solo piano segment. Yea. Throw this away. Oh no.. a wind up ending. Wow - it's.. that has to be the worst track on here, I hope.

5. To Live a Life - Letter writing. Uh oh - is this like the postcard?! I'm not sure if she's drinking and driving, but it sounds like it. She's definately drinking and writing this song. However, this song is a lot better lyrically. Has to be though - this is just a muted guitar, piano, and voice. I really like that arrangement. Ooo - "Then Suddenly" - yea, I like this song. I want to go back and listen again to get more of the lyrics. I was distracted a bit, but I liked the music quite a bit.

6. My Wild Sweet Love - This is more the style of First Aid Kit that I think of. A lot like the first track. It's more interesting musically, but less focus on the music of their harmonies. It's good, comfortable, and nice to listen to in the morning.

7. Distant Star - This was going on in the background while I was doing something else. Seems good. That's all I can say about that.

8. Ruins - Okay! Title track. DO NOT FUCK THIS UP. Yea, this singer has to have listened to Emmylou Harris a lot. It's not unique to Emmylou, but the sound is so similar. Ah, I like the way they are singing this. This has a lot more of a unique sound than the rest of the album. I think it's sounds like First Aid Kit to me, but it definately stands out. So far, good choice for a title track. The end is so solid when you strip everything down. I dig it.

9. Hem of Her Dress - You say you found yourself/in someone else  -- here eyes are golden hue / and everything you knew / slips away at the hem of her dress. Love that sequence. Though it does have some thing weird trappings of youth thinking that NO ONE COULD UNDERSTAND MY FEELINGS. Oh no... wait... why. Who the hell are all these people singing now. It's like a live album now. The singer gave up and is just letting the crowd destroy something. Welp, this went from interesting to meh to gross pretty damn quick.

10. Nothing Has to be True - Last track? Already? Damn that went fast. 10 tracks is a good number for an album. No reason to crowd an album with additional songs if you've said what you wanted to say. This is a winding song. Winding down the album, I guess. The music just drops floors a few times. Appropriate, but not as powerful or well done as you'd hope to close out a 10 track album.


Overall, I'd say it's what I would expect to hear from First Aid Kit. It's not surprising, but also pleasant to listen to. I'd listen to it again, and later in the year. We'll see if it has the staying power.

I'd give this 4 band-aids out of 7 strips of gauze. That's just the first listen though. Their last album grew on me over time. Maybe this one will too.