First Aid Kit, the neo-Americana band consisting of Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg, has returned to bless the world with four unreleased songs, part of a new EP, Tender Offerings. The mini-album begins with “I’ve Wanted You,” sung with the same gorgeous sadness and performed with the sparse instrumentation the sisters are known for. The song is beautiful, but too familiar to the duo’s earlier work (e.g., imploding relationship tales set to haunting, crystalline sounds) to really register or be deserving of its nearly seven-minute length. The following entry, “Tender Offerings,” also revisits a similar theme of First Aid Kit’s work—the often-conflicting yearning for freedom (single life) and stability (relationships). But a minute in, Klara and Johanna’s voices and guitars kick it up a notch and “Tender Offerings” transforms into a toe-tapping celebration of optimism and human connection.
The third entry truly surprises; “Ugly” is like a Coachella version of TLC’s “Unpretty,” with the sisters unfurling a lovely feminist message. The lyrics describe a young woman’s awakening; realizing her whole life rests on the validation of strangers and her boyfriend. “I thought if you found me pretty then I’d be fine… It’s only if you wanted me that I had peace of mind… Well, if I’m ugly, I’m so much more than that. So much more than you’ll ever know.”
Tender Offerings‘ closer carries on that positive spirit. “All That We Get” highlights the Söderbergs’ maturity, emphasizing gratitude in an unsure world. “But if this is all that we get, all that is dealt to us, is that really not enough? I got you and that’s enough.” (Columbia) RECORD LABEL
This article is a part of the 2018 Dec / Jan issue of Whole Life Times.