I know what you’re thinking: What do Sweden and Nebraska have in common? Funny you should ask. There’s climate for one, as the two share similar summer (July average 75) and winter temps (January average 23). Nearly 5 percent of Nebraska’s population is of Swedish descent, and both spots claim a bevy of Lutherans.
The two locales share another affinity: Music. Both have developed and engendered a burgeoning scene, with Sweden boasting such acts as ABBA, The Hives and Shout Out Louds while Nebraska can look to Elliott Smith, 311 and Mannheim Steamroller. One wonders what a collaboration of musical minds from the two regions would create.
Something damn near perfect, as it turns out.
From Omaha by way of Stockholm comes First Aid Kit, the Swedish folk duo of sisters Johanna and Klara Svderberg, whose second album The Lion’s Roar is as ebullient as it is earnest. Produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes), the result is an Americana (Swedishana?) piece of heaven, as the sisters’ stirring storytelling ebbs and flows with the gentle strings and slide guitars. It succeeds in extremes — it’s warm and cheery, dark and dour — an impressive feat of music from women just entering their 20s.
The first three songs are stunning, the best trio of opening tracks I’ve heard in some time. The title track moves along in a spirited country waltz, as Klara takes first lead with her clipped Appalachian gait joined shortly by Johanna’s smooth, harmonic stride. It explodes in a wealth of flutes, trumpets and strings, tempered by the sisters’ soothing voices. “Emmylou” follows, a touching love song which has the two wearing their heroes on their sleeves (Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, June Carter and Johnny Cash), their hearts on their pedal-steel guitars. “In the Hearts of Men” rounds out the terrific trio, a lush and ethereal tune which drifts into Julee Cruise territory.
Roar is unable to keep a level as high as the opening flourish, but does maintain a steady plane of excellence. “Blue” is playful, employing a glockenspiel for a jaunty romp; “To A Poet” is stripped bare, allowing the sisters’ voices to take center stage and flex their worth; and “New Year’s Eve” has Klara and a zither sharing time for a song about California. “King of the World” brings in Mr. Bright Eyes himself, Conor Oberst, for an album-ending romp complete with mandolins, violins and hand-claps.
The Lion’s Roar is crisp and clear with a glint of classic country, perfectly mastered and sharply produced. In the Svderberg sisters, Americana has found a fresh voice rooted from beyond its usual borders.
