First Aid Kit, Rough Trade East, January 26th
First Aid Kit are Klara and Johanna Soderberg
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Wednesday, 10, Feb 2010 04:36
By Charli Williams and Vicky Tooms
With a small east London crowd giving off cool vibes and no warm up act to get things going it was never going to be the easiest of gigs. But First Aid Kit (Klara and Johanna Soderberg) came on and played with the earnest musical strength that seems to come so naturally to these sisters from Sweden. Opening with a flawless performance of Our Own Pretty Ways you were instantly reminded of how talented these girls actually are. Persevering to chat sweetly with a largely unresponsive crowd between songs, Klara's charming maturity which feels ever-present in her rich and heartfelt vocals, prevailed. Johanna's instrumentation on keys and hauntingly powerful lower vocal harmonies tie it all together and her endearingly honest confession that she felt nervous went some way to relieving any unnecessary tension in the air.
The girls continued on fairly effortlessly, alternating between first EP favourites such as Tangerine and Jagadamba You Might to brand new songs from their debut LP The Big Black and Blue. For those of us eagerly hearing songs for the first time First Aid Kit didn't disappoint; new tracks like I Met up with the King were different enough to be exciting but still contain the rich, resonating melodies and captivating lyrics that hooked us in the first place. Giving the audience the chance to pick a final song back-fired slightly when someone requested a track already played and then another shouted out for Cross Oceans which the girls apparently "weren't prepared for". In the end it was Klara's choice of She's Not Coming Home Tonight that closed the show, making us very happy indeed.
While this performance didn't quite have the ethereal quality of others we have seen, the mixture of unaffected charm, unique sound and impressive musical prowess that seems to define these rising stars was there, and that's what we really came to see. In a way, this low-key gig felt a bit like watching your mates play; by which we mean your really, really talented mates.
First Aid Kit are next playing at Union Chapel on Thursday 4th March. Check them out.