My First 2012 Obsession

It seems like the first couple weeks of the year are always light on new releases, but they are starting to come out in full force now. Kathleen Edwards, who is apparently dating Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, released a record last week that I've really enjoyed. This week, Craig Finn of The Hold Steady released his first solo record, Rodrigo y Gabriela released another strong album, and Chairlift (aka that band from that one iPod commercial) released a well received album. I've also been really getting into Hospitality's self-titled debut on Merge Records that comes out next week and is currently on Spotify.

However, the one record that has me the most excited so far is The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit. The band is a pair of sisters from Sweden that make infectiously sweet sounding folk/country songs. There are certainly artists and albums that I listen to more than others, but I usually like having variety, and I rarely put an album or a song on repeat like I know some people do. However, today after finishing the album, I just couldn't think of anything else I wanted to listen to more, so I just started right back at the beginning. All of this tells you very little about the actual music, so you can read a much more nuanced and musically descriptive review here if you're so inclined. That blog is also my new favorite blog. I've gotten sick of various blogs being so negative about almost everything, and it's refreshing to see a site that is willing to talk about just how much they like a song/band/album.

I don't have a ton of time to write, so I'll just let the music speak for itself at the bottom of the page. I couldn't decide which of the first two tracks from the album to include. After going back and forth between the two I wondered why I was even trying to pick just one of the two. The two tracks are a bit different, with the second one being a bit more country and paying homage to Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, and June Carter and Johnny Cash in the chorus. Check out both of the songs and support the band if you like them!