Evoking the maudlin spaghetti western ballads of Tarnation, with songs like Distant Star, First Aid Kit are at turns wistful, replete with melodies and harmonies that are still strikingly beautiful. Ruins is an album of remembering who we were, who we loved, and all that we left behind. Full of nostalgia, regret but also the wisdom to know that although we sometimes lose old friends and loves, that to progress in life we sometimes have to leave those we love behind. The album explores loneliness but it’s also about moving on like in “It’s a Shame.” First Aid Kit manages to make loneliness lovely without wallowing in it, like how Hem of Her Dress becomes a rousing boozed up chorus about the sting when an unrequited love won’t shut up about his new lover oblivious to his unrequited lover’s sorrow.
Originally published in Kirkby Extra, February 2018.
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Martin Summerfield
Monthly music columnist for the Kirkby Extra, sometimes article writer for Get Into This. Freelance writer/artist/maker. Archives
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