Ruins (First Aid Kit album)

Ruins is the fourth studio album by Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit. The album was produced by Tucker Martine and features contributions from R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Wilco's Glenn Kotche and Midlake's McKenzie Smith.[1] The album was released on 19 January 2018. The lead single "It's a Shame" was released on 28 September 2017.

Ruins
Studio album by
First Aid Kit
Released19 January 2018
Recorded2017
StudioFlora Recording & Playback (Portland, Oregon)
Genre
Length39:34
LabelColumbia
ProducerTucker Martine
First Aid Kit chronology
Stay Gold
(2014)		 Ruins
(2018)		 Who by Fire
(2021)
Singles from Ruins
  1. "It's a Shame"
    Released: 28 September 2017
  2. "Postcard"
    Released: 27 October 2017
  3. "Fireworks"
    Released: 1 December 2017

Background

After First Aid Kit broke through internationally with their cover of the song "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" by Fleet Foxes in 2008 the duo released three albums in six years. In an interview Klara Söderberg said: "We started touring in 2009, and between playing and recording, we never had a break. By 2015, I was kind of spent. I had a hard time expressing, let alone understanding how exhausted I was until I couldn’t do it anymore." Her sister Johanna has had a similar experience and said in the same interview: "It just came to us in different ways, having breakdowns, crying on stage, feeling it was too much ... We decided together we needed a break, and it was really hard for me to do that. I got restless and struggled with the down time, but we both needed that space. We didn’t speak for months. We had to have a divorce before we could write music again."[2]

In August 2015 after the tour of Stay Gold ended they took a break until April 2016. In this period Klara's relationship ended which influenced the record and brought forth the title of the album: "It’s the ruins of a relationship. How sad it is, but also how beautiful it was. That’s all you have left at the end."[1][3] In 2016 Klara and Johanna reconvened in Los Angeles to write the new album.[2] The first single "It's a Shame" reflects on the shining sun in LA 'forcing' them to feel happy while in a sad mood.[1][4] They wrote the album track "Rebel Heart" in a remote house in Joshua Tree.[5] The song "My Wild Sweet Love" was initially written for the 2014 film The Fault in Our Stars but was rejected. The album closer "Nothing Has to Be True" was written on a Gibson guitar from 1928 bought as a gift by Jack White.[5][6]

Recording

In January 2017 the band started recording in Portland, Oregon with producer Tucker Martine. The album features contributions of R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Wilco's Glenn Kotche and Midlake's McKenzie Smith. Singer-songwriter Laura Veirs can be heard on the song "Hem of Her Dress" along with Klara and Johanna's mother and brother.[5]

Promotion and release

In support of the album the band announced a North-American tour for the spring of 2018 with ensuing dates for the UK, Europe and Australia.

The lead single "It's a Shame" was released on 28 September 2017. The music video, directed by Mats Udd, was posted on YouTube on 10 October 2017.[7]

The second single "Postcard" was released on 27 October 2017 with an accompanying lyrics video posted the same day on YouTube.[8]

The third single "Fireworks" was released on 1 December 2017. The music video was also directed by Mats Udd. The clip was posted on YouTube on 5 January 2018.[9]

The title track "Ruins" was made available for download on 12 January 2018.

On 12 January 2018, the duo appeared on The Graham Norton Show, performing the song "It's a Shame". On 23 January 2018, they also performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.0/10[10]
Metacritic76/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The A.V. ClubB[13]
The Daily Telegraph[14]
The Guardian[15]
The Independent[16]
NME[17]
Pitchfork6.4/10[18]
Q[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
The Times[21]

The album received acclaim from many critics. Based on 27 reviews, Ruins received a Metacritic score of 76 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews.[11] Marcy Donelson of AllMusic considered Ruins "never complacent, though, keeping its rough, rustic edges."[12] In his review Daniel Sylvester of Exclaim! concluded: "Lyrically and sonically, Ruins helps First Aid Kit gives listeners a mature, realized and often heartbreaking version of this young band's oeuvre."[22] Andy Gill of The Independent stated: "If 2014’s Stay Gold expressed a deep desire for change, then Ruins rakes through the rubble left by those changes." He praised the "instinctive harmonies, which remain as sweet as ever."[16] Drowned in Sound's Joe Goggins gave the album a mixed review stating: "The question hanging over it, though, is how long First Aid Kit can get away with making revisions to the original model before the law of diminishing returns begins to kick in hard."[23] In July BBC Radio 6 Music listed Ruins as one of their best 18 albums of the year so far.[24] A gold record was awarded in Sweden in August.[25]

The album earned First Aid Kit their second nomination for the Brit Award for International Group.[26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Klara and Johanna Söderberg

Ruins track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Rebel Heart"5:22
2."It's a Shame"4:00
3."Fireworks"4:15
4."Postcard"3:47
5."To Live a Life"3:13
6."My Wild Sweet Love"3:55
7."Distant Star"3:10
8."Ruins"3:31
9."Hem of Her Dress"3:23
10."Nothing Has to Be True"4:58
Total length:39:34

Personnel

First Aid Kit

  • Klara Söderberg – vocals, guitar
  • Johanna Söderberg – vocals

Additional musicians

  • Benkt Söderberg – bass (all tracks), electric guitar (3), choir (9)
  • Glenn Kotche – drums (1–5, 8), percussion (1, 3)
  • Eli Moore – electric guitar (1–6, 8–10), acoustic guitar (3, 9); dulcimer, vocals (9)
  • Peter Buck – electric guitar (1–4, 8), acoustic guitar (7, 9), mandolin (9)
  • Justin Chase – keyboards (1), choir (9)
  • Steve Moore – keyboards (1, 8), organ (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10), piano (2, 4–6, 8–10), synthesizer (5–7), melodica (7); choir, trombone (9)
  • Melvin Duffy – steel guitar (1, 2, 4–6, 8, 10)
  • Tucker Martine – tambourine (1), percussion (2, 6, 9); choir, drums (9)
  • Paul Brainard – trumpet (1, 9)
  • Eyvind Kang – viola (1, 3, 7, 8)
  • Kyleen King – viola (5, 6, 9, 10)
  • Patti King – violin (5, 6, 9, 10)
  • Anna Fritz – cello (6, 9, 10)
  • McKenzie Smith – drums (6, 7, 10), percussion (7, 9), choir (9)
  • Anna Söderberg – choir (9)
  • Isak Söderberg – choir (9)
  • Laura Veirs – choir (9)
  • Michael Finn – choir (9)
  • Mikael Tot – choir (9)

Technical

Artwork

Charts

References
  1. Tom Lanham (18 January 2018). "Interview: First Aid Kit on Turning Ruins Into 'Ruins'". Paste. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  2. Greg Kot (25 January 2018). "First Aid Kit 'divorce' leads to renewed music". Chicago Tribune.
  3. Tom (19 January 2018). "hmv.com talks to First Aid Kit about new LP Ruins". hmv.com.
  4. Robin Murray (29 September 2018). "First Aid Kit Breeze Back With 'It's A Shame'". Clash.
  5. Lake Schatz (19 January 2018). "Track By Track: First Aid Kit break down their new album, Ruins, plus stream it in full". Consequence of Sound.
  6. "First Aid Kit - Instagram". Instagram. 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  7. "First Aid Kit - It's a Shame (Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  8. "First Aid Kit - It's a Shame (Lyric Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  9. "First Aid Kit - Fireworks". YouTube. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  10. "Ruins by First Aid Kit reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  11. "Ruins by First Aid Kit Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  12. Donelson, Marcy. "Ruins – First Aid Kit". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  13. McLevy, Alex (19 January 2018). "First Aid Kit, Ruins". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  14. McCormick, Neil (18 January 2018). "First Aid Kit, Ruins, review – 'their best so far'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  15. Hann, Michael (19 January 2018). "First Aid Kit: Ruins review – lustrous Americana heartbreak pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  16. Gill, Andy (17 January 2018). "Album reviews: First Aid Kit – Ruins, Calexico – The Thread That Keeps Us, Tune-Yards – I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life". The Independent. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  17. Cooper, Leonie (15 January 2018). "First Aid Kit – 'Ruins' Review". NME. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  18. Deusner, Stephen M. (19 January 2018). "First Aid Kit: Ruins". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  19. Barton, Laura (February 2018). "Just What the Doctor Ordered". Q (381): 106.
  20. Hermes, Will (18 January 2018). "Review: First Aid Kit, Swedish Indie-Folkers, Return With R.E.M.'s Guitarist". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  21. Hodgkinson, Will (19 January 2018). "Pop review: First Aid Kit: Ruins". The Times. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  22. Sylvester, Daniel (12 January 2018). "First Aid Kit: Ruins". Exclaim!. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  23. Goggins, Joe (18 January 2018). "Album Review: First Aid Kit – Ruins". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  24. "The 18 best albums of 2018 so far - as recommended by 6 Music". BBC Radio 6 Music. 16 July 2018.
  25. "Sverige topplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 11 October 2018. To access, user must enter the search (Sök) parameter "First Aid Kit" and then press "Visa" buttons from the resulting album and single list
  26. "Brit Awards 2019: Full list of winners". BBC News. 20 February 2019.
  27. "Australiancharts.com – First Aid Kit – Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  28. "Austriancharts.at – First Aid Kit – Ruins" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  29. "Ultratop.be – First Aid Kit – Ruins" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  30. "Ultratop.be – First Aid Kit – Ruins" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  31. "Danishcharts.dk – First Aid Kit – Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  32. "Dutchcharts.nl – First Aid Kit – Ruins" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  33. "First Aid Kit: Ruins" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  34. "Lescharts.com – First Aid Kit – Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  35. "Offiziellecharts.de – First Aid Kit – Ruins" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  36. "Irish-charts.com – Discography First Aid Kit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  37. "Norwegiancharts.com – First Aid Kit – Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  38. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  39. "Swedishcharts.com – First Aid Kit – Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  40. "Swisscharts.com – First Aid Kit – Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  41. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  42. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  43. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  44. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  45. "Jaaroverzichten 2018". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  46. "Årslista Album – År 2018" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
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