First Aid Kit - The Lions Roar

First Aid Kit, aka duo Johanna and Klara Söderberg, first got chins wagging when they posted a cover of Fleet Foxes' ballad Tiger Mountain Peasant Song on Youtube. A couple of million hits and an album later, they return with their second long-player, which is their first full-band effort and was recorded in Omaha with producer Mike Mogis, while their dad played bass.

Following on from their debut, and also retaining their love for Fleet Foxes, the Swedish sisters deliver beautiful, swooning and sweeping folk which sounds far more American than it does Swedish. The album's foreboding title track opens things up with a sense of honesty that flows throughout. “I'm a god damn coward/But, then again, so are you,” the siblings sing with conviction before the mood is lightened by the beautiful country of obvious single, Emmylou. “I'll be your Emmylou and I'll be your June, if you'll be my Gram and my Johnny too,” they chirp, in a song that gives a clear nod to the band's influences. The harmonious breakdown of the catchy-yet-gloomy To a Poet illustrates the pair's strong vocals. They sing with a crystal clarity that suits the sound of a record which manages to create a warm, textured atmosphere while remaining clean-sounding and unfussy.

The record ends with joyously ramshackle hoe-down King of the Road. A hand-clappy, upbeat Mariachi romp, it features The Felice Brothers and Conor Oberst – a sign that First Aid Kit are making friends in all the right places. If they keep on putting out such charming and emotionally engaging music, they will surely continue to make a whole lot more friends and fans.

Review by Bobby Townsend. It first appeared in Sydney's Drum Media.

Robyn - Body Talk Pt 1

As the title suggests, the new long-player from Swedish singer/songwriter Robyn Miriam Carlsson is the first in a series, and it only takes a few seconds of opening track Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do to make the proposed three albums seem like a very appealing prospect. Over an insistent electro-dance beat, her spoken-word delivery lists a collection of apprehensions and vices. “My drinking’s killing me… My heels are killing me… My email’s killing me.” Half a swipe at the superficiality of modern living, half a genuine window into the singer’s anxieties, it’s an intriguing start.

Moving on, the odd cartoon rap-pop of Fembot is followed by lead single, Dancing On My Own, which is a sweeping industrial dance anthem. “I’m in the corner watching you kiss her,” the chorus cries like the lovesick offspring of Ultravox’s Dancing With Tears in My Eyes and Robyn’s own mega-hit, With Every Heartbeat.

Dancehall Queen is a collaboration with Philadelphia DJ Diplo which reprises mid-90s Euro dance. Whether the world needs a homage to this era is questionable but there is a certain charm to this unabashed, Ace Of Base cheesefest. Counterbalancing it, None Of Dem (which features Norwegian duo Röyksopp) is dark and brooding and is followed by Hang With Me, a straightforward ballad over strings and piano, and Jag Vet En Dejilg Rosa, a haunting traditional Swedish folk song.

With the eight songs clocking in at half-an-hour yet still managing to seamlessly travel in so many directions, Body Talk Pt 1 is quite the achievement and really whets the appetite for parts two and three.