#16 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31
Stay Gold by First Aid Kit
This is the second appearance the band at #16 has made on the Top 31. First Aid Kit, a pair of sisters from Sweden, had the #4 album in 2012: their fantastic sophomore album, Lions. I absolutely loved that album, and I had my doubts they’d be able to capture the magic again.
Stay Gold is an apt follow-up. As with their previous efforts, this album is full of perfectly-produced old-school country music. Sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, 24 and 21 respectively, sing — in flawless English — about love, life on the road, and other timeless tropes worthy of being sung. But the subject hardly matters; their voices are what keep me coming back. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the sisters share a brain, such is their ability to sing in lock-step harmony.
If you never listened to Lions, I recommend you start there. Once you’ve thoroughly absorbed that gem, come back to Stay Gold. First Aid Kit have a good thing going, and it looks like they’re going to be around for a while.
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17. This is All Yours by ∆
18. Brill Bruisers by The New Pornographers
19. Only Run by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
20. Augustines by Augustines
21. El Pintor by Interpol
22. I Never Learn by Lykke Li
23. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
24. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods