Album of the Week: First Aid Kit hurts so good

First Aid Kit: The Big Black and The Blue

I’ve already gushed about First Aid Kit, the brilliant Swedish sister folk duo that, along with Mumford & Sons, is making songs about fields and shipbuilding hip again. And the comparisons with Mumford & Sons and their pop-friendly approach to old-time sounds don’t stop there; First Aid Kit’s debut long-player shares M&S’s first disc’s superstrong start with a fizzle-out finish. It won’t be a problem at all getting through The Big Black and the Blue’s foot-stomping, smile-inducing first half, with songs like “Waltz for Richard,” “Hard Believer” and sparkling “Sailor Song” showing off the Söderberg sisters’ exquisite harmonies, evocative of the best two-part vocal acts of decades past (Simon and Garfunkel, the Everly and Isley brothers). But I’ll maintain that 11 songs is too much for most debut acts to carry off, and First Aid Kit are no different. But what a start! A-

First Aid Kit: I Met Up With the King
from the CD The Big Black and The Blue
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