Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg were scarcely out of their teens when their duo, First Aid Kit, launched its first EP in 2009. Despite a growing U.S. audience, they have been invisible for several years, and a recent live-album tribute to Leonard Cohen was criminally ignored. But Columbia Records is pushing the new album Palomino with good reason. The work swells beyond life-size with strong session musicians and occasional orchestral backing.
This approach works more often than not, from the opener “Out of My Head” to the closing title track. Still, it can resemble the kind of big session, like Dusty Springfield’s Dusty In Memphis, that is challenging to replicate in a live setting. The Soderberg sisters can live up to the super-sizing, though it’s in the quietest near-a cappella moments when Palomino sounds mightiest.
Also New & Noteworthy
Sleepyhead, New Alchemy (Wild Sometimes Records) – The NY-to-Boston indie trio has a 30-year history but only six albums to their credit. The new one seems designed to win new converts. In tracks like “Molly Joe,” vocalist Chris O’Rourke provides the down-home feel of Jonathan Richman. When Rachael McNally takes over, her delivery is a hybrid of Claudia Gonson and Victoria Williams. Sleepyhead dares you to feel good in the midst of misery, which means the band’s return is perfectly timed.
Disq, Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet (Saddle Creek) – Don’t be fooled by the title of the Madison, Wisconsin, band’s sophomore album. Disq specializes in taking well-crafted melodic pop tunes and pouring noise all over them. The opener, “Civilization Four,” raises questions about societal evolution, but the real treat is when bass player Raina Bock makes her singing debut in “Cujo Kiddies,” showing she’s just as steeped in pop as the other four members.