The Lion's Roar (album)

The Lion's Roar is the second studio album by Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit. It was produced by Mike Mogis and features contributions from Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, Nate Walcott, and The Felice Brothers. The album was released on 18 January 2012.

The Lion's Roar
Studio album by
First Aid Kit
Released18 January 2012
23 January 2012 (UK)
24 January 2012 (US)
RecordedARC Studios, Omaha, United States
Genre
Length42:46
46:16 (iTunes edition)
53:30 (special edition box set)
LabelWichita (UK)
Redeye (USA)
ProducerMike Mogis
First Aid Kit chronology
The Big Black and the Blue
(2010)		 The Lion's Roar
(2012)		 Stay Gold
(2014)
Singles from The Lion's Roar
  1. "The Lion's Roar"
    Released: 7 December 2011
  2. "Emmylou"
    Released: 10 February 2012
  3. "Blue"
    Released: 18 June 2012
  4. "Wolf"
    Released: 17 September 2012

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[1]
Metacritic81/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Daily Telegraph[4]
The Guardian[5]
Mojo[6]
NME8/10[7]
Pitchfork7.6/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Spin7/10[11]
Uncut[12]

Critical

The Lion's Roar received general acclaim from music journalists. The album holds an aggregate score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic, which indicates "universal acclaim".[2] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian commented that it was "a bigger, better record than their debut, rounded out with the confidence of maturity and a smooth, assured indie-country sound."[5] Helen Clarke of musicOMH was similarly positive, stating that "this follow-up could be the album that sees them nudge the likes of Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons out of the way in order to claim a place at the top table."[13] As with the band's previous work, critics praised Klara and Johanna Söderberg's singing, with The Independent highlighting the band's "clear, characterful voices, employed in beautifully modulated, bell-like harmonies."[14]

The album was reissued in the form of a special edition box set on 17 September 2012, featuring additional tracks and a music-video DVD amongst other items.[15]

Rolling Stone named the song "Emmylou" the 10th best song of 2012[16] and 96th in their list of 100 best songs of the 2010s.[17] At the 2013 annual Grammis Awards, the album won three awards, including album of the year, pop of the year and best album composers of the year.[18]

Commercial

The album went straight to #1 in Sweden in its first week of release, topping the Swedish Albums Chart.[19] It also reached #35 in its first week on the UK Albums Chart,[20] and has sold 76,759 copies in the UK as of June 2014.[21]

Worldwide, the album has sold over 250,000 copies.[22]

Track listing

All tracks written by Klara and Johanna Söderberg, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Lion's Roar" 5:07
2."Emmylou" 4:18
3."In the Hearts of Men" 4:14
4."Blue" 3:12
5."This Old Routine"Söderberg/Söderberg/Joe Andert4:24
6."To a Poet" 5:44
7."I Found a Way" 4:13
8."Dance to Another Tune" 4:51
9."New Year's Eve" 3:07
10."King of the World"Söderberg/Söderberg/Conor Oberst3:39
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Wolf"3:40
Japanese edition
No.TitleLength
11."Some Distant Memory"5:05
12."The Lion's Roar" (live on KCRW)4:29
Special edition box set bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Wolf"3:40
12."Marianne's Son"3:35
13."I Just Needed a Friend"3:29

Official videos

The Lion's Roar (2011) on YouTube
Emmylou (2012) on YouTube
Blue (2012) on YouTube
Wolf (2012) on YouTube

Notes
  • During the second episode of the Dontnod Entertainment's 2019 video game Life Is Strange 2, one of the characters covered the song "I Found a Way". The original version of the song is featured in the end credits of that episode.
  • Bluegrass duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge covered "Emmylou" for their 2019 album Inner Journey.

Credits
  • Keyboards, autoharp, vocals – Johanna Söderberg
  • Vocals, guitar – Klara Söderberg
  • Bass guitar – Benkt Söderberg (Cuts 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10)
  • Drums, percussion – Mattias Bergqvist (Cuts 1–8; 10)
  • Orchestral arrangements - Nate Walcott
  • Piano – Nate Walcott (Cuts 4–7)
  • Trumpet – Nate Walcott (Cut 10)
  • B3 organ – Nate Walcott (Cut 9)
  • Piano – Ben Brodin (Cuts 1–3; 7)
  • Accordion – James Felice (Cut 10)
  • Vocals – Conor Oberst (Cut 10)
  • Engineer, mixing and producer; mandolin, pedal steel, percussion, claps, vibes, autoharp, electric guitar, hammer dulcimer – Mike Mogis

Charts and certifications

References
  1. "The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  2. "Reviews for The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  3. O'Brien, Jon. "The Lion's Roar – First Aid Kit". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. Lachno, James (19 January 2012). "First Aid Kit, The Lion's Roar, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  5. Nicholson, Rebecca (19 January 2012). "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  6. "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar". Mojo (219): 97. February 2012.
  7. Malone, Ailbhe (20 January 2012). "First Aid Kit – 'The Lion's Roar'". NME. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  8. Maddux, Rachael (24 January 2012). "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  9. "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar". Q (307): 104. February 2012.
  10. Hermes, Will (24 January 2012). "The Lion's Roar". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  11. Wood, Mikael (24 January 2012). "First Aid Kit, 'The Lion's Roar' (Wichita)". Spin. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  12. "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar". Uncut (177): 84. February 2012.
  13. Clarke, Helen (20 January 2012). "First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar". musicOMH. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  14. Gill, Andy (19 January 2012). "Album: First Aid Kit, The Lion's Roar". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  15. "Wichita Recordings". Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  16. "50 Best Songs of 2012". Rolling Stone.
  17. "The 100 Best Songs of the 2010s". Rolling Stone.
  18. "First Aid Kit tog hem fyra grammis". 20 February 2013.
  19. Swedish Charts: The Lion's Roar album page
  20. "UK chart". Official Charts.
  21. "Country Bites News snippets June 9 - June 15, 2014". Country Routes News Blog. 21 June 2014.
  22. "First Aid Kit Announce New Album 'Stay Gold' And Stream New Single 'My Silver Lining' [Listen]". Contactmusic.com. 2 April 2014.
  23. "Australiancharts.com – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  24. "Austriancharts.at – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  25. "Ultratop.be – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  26. "Ultratop.be – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  27. "Danishcharts.dk – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  28. "Dutchcharts.nl – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  29. "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  30. "Norwegiancharts.com – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  31. "Swedishcharts.com – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  32. "Swisscharts.com – First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  33. "{{{artist}}} | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  34. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  35. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  36. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  37. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  38. "First Aid Kit Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  39. "Årslista Album – År 2012" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  40. "Top Folk Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  41. "Årslista Album – År 2013" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  42. "Årslista Album – År 2014" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  43. Rakvaag, Geir (April 17, 2012). "Større enn Madonna?". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  44. "Veckolista Album, vecka 30, 2014 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 24, 2022. Scroll to position 30 to view certification.
  45. "British album certifications – First Aid Kid – The Lion's Roar". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Lion's Roar in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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