The Lion's Roar (album)
 |
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
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 and The Felice Brothers. The album was released on 18 January 2012.
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Clash |   [2] |
| BBC | (positive)[3] |
| musicOMH |   [4] |
| Drowned in Sound | [5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| The Independent | (positive)[7] |
| Pitchfork | (7.6/10)[8] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [9] |
| Paste Magazine | (8.4/10)[10] |
| Pop 'stache |  [11] |
Critical
The Lion's Roar received general acclaim from music journalists.
The Guardian awarded the album 4 stars out of 5, commenting that it was "a bigger, better record than their debut, rounded out with the confidence of maturity and a smooth, assured indie-country sound."[6] 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."[4] As with the band's previous work, critics praised Klara and Johanna's singing, with The Independent highlighting the band's "clear, characterful voices, employed in beautifully modulated, bell-like harmonies."[7]
As of late 2012, the album holds an aggregate score of 81/100 on Metacritic which indicates universal acclaim.[1]
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.[12]
Rolling Stone Magazine named the song "Emmylou" the 10th best song of 2012.[13] 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.[14]
Commercial
The album went straight to #1 in Sweden in its first week of release, topping the Swedish Albums Chart.[15] It also reached #35 in its first week on the UK Albums Chart,[16] and has sold 76,759 copies in the UK as of June 2014.[17]
Worldwide, the album has sold over 250,000 copies.[18]
Track listing
All tracks written by Klara and Johanna Söderberg, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(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 Andert | 4:24 |
| 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 Oberst | 3:39 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Wolf" | 3:40 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Some Distant Memory" | 5:05 |
| 12. | "The Lion's Roar" (live on KCRW) | 4:29 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
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)
- Piano – Ben Brodin (Cuts 1–3; 7)
- Piano – Nate Walcott (Cuts 4–7)
- Trumpet – Nate Walcott (Cut 10)
- B3 organ – Nate Walcott (Cut 9)
- 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
Peak positions
|
Certifications
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b "The Lion's Roar Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ Freeman, John (2012-02-19). "Clash review". clashmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ Shaw, Natalie (2012-02-19). "BBC review". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ a b Clarke, Helen (2012-01-20). "musicOMH review". musicomh.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ Cooke, Robert (2012-01-20). "Drowned in Sound review". drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ a b Nicholson, Rebecca (2012-01-19). "The Guardian review". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ a b Gill, Andy (2012-01-19). "The Independent review". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ Maddux, Rachael (2012-01-24). "Pitchfork review". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
- ^ Lachno, James (2012-01-19). "The Daily Telegraph review". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar :: Reviews :: Paste". Retrieved 2012-01-27.
- ^ "First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar Album Review for Pop 'stache".
- ^ http://shop.wichita-recordings.com/PhysicalProduct.aspx?pid=410&itemtype=CD
- ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-songs-of-2012-20121205/first-aid-kit-emmylou-19691231
- ^ http://www.expressen.se/noje/first-aid-kit-tog-hem-fyra-grammis/
- ^ a b c d e f Swedish Charts: The Lion's Roar album page
- ^ a b UK chart
- ^ a b "Country Bites News snippets June 9 - June 15, 2014". Country Routes News Blog. 21 June 2014.
- ^ "First Aid Kit Announce New Album 'Stay Gold' And Stream New Single 'My Silver Lining' [Listen]". Contack Music.
- ^ "Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Recording Industry Association". ARIA. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
- ^ a b Danish The Lion's Roar album page
- ^ NorwegianThe Lion's Roar album page
- ^ a b c d e [1]
- ^ "Veckolista Album - Vecka 29, 19 juli 2013" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Hitlistan.se. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ "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.