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9.1
101599
9.1 |
Paste Magazine
It’s the last three songs that push an already arresting album to the next level
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8.5
101540
8.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A classic high-quality, well-arranged and passionate album from First Aid Kit, but this time – it’s not so innocent
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8.0
101793
8.0 |
The 405
Their most powerful album
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8.0
102016
8.0 |
Record Collector
Closer to a glorious new beginning
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8.0
101401
8.0 |
Mojo
There is pain here. The results, though, are delicious. Print edition only
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8.0
101402
8.0 |
Q
With a new volume and urgency to their sound, these are songs that are more lived-in than callow and coltish. Print edition only
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8.0
101409
8.0 |
Exclaim
Lyrically and sonically, Ruins helps First Aid Kit gives listeners a mature, realized and often heartbreaking version of this young band's oeuvre
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8.0
101443
8.0 |
NME
There’s something endearing about First Aid Kit’s dedication to their sound
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8.0
101474
8.0 |
The Skinny
Ruins doesn't aim to re-write the indie-folk/country rule book. Rather, the Söderberg sisters are just fine-tuning their craft and growing into a comfortable groove
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8.0
101475
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
True to form though, the siblings continue to juxtapose the tragic with the beautiful, as has been their wont from the beginning, along the way somehow turning it into something powerfully optimistic instead
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8.0
101500
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
There’s something so special in their voices, that you just can’t quite put your finger on
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8.0
101511
8.0 |
All Music
Fans of Stay Gold will find a familiar bright, assertive sound, with Klara and Johanna's trademark tandem vocals bringing a certain air of resiliency to an unexpectedly lively set of songs
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8.0
101514
8.0 |
The Guardian
There’s much to be said for the familiar, when it’s delivered with such grace
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7.5
101524
7.5 |
A.V. Club
It’s a very familiar take on Americana, full of heartbreak and yearning, but a damn reliable one
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7.5
101544
7.5 |
Under The Radar
Sticks to the well-trodden path of Americana, and does so with guns blazing
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7.0
101548
7.0 |
American Songwriter
Both a return to the plaintive folk-pop the band crystallized on 2012’s The Lion’s Roar as well as a continuation of the lush production they’ve recently embraced
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7.0
101644
7.0 |
Gig Soup
Not much of a departure from their previous work, but existing fans won’t be disappointed by this record
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7.0
101495
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
At times, the musical ornamentation feels too much. But when those two voices combine, it all falls away
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7.0
101537
7.0 |
musicOMH
A few more rough edges and sonic variety would shake things up, and possibly open new avenues, but for now things aren’t in Ruins, nor are they a consolation prize. Instead, this is just another good First Aid Kit album
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7.0
101403
7.0 |
Uncut
Ruins keeps First Aid Kit moving forward, empowered rather than overcome by the wrath of love
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7.0
101400
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
First Aid Kit has gotten exceedingly proficient at imitating their favorite American artists
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6.7
101593
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
While not their best, Ruins certainly stands as First Aid Kit’s most cohesive album
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6.4
101490
6.4 |
Pitchfork
The most impressive thing about Ruins is how they make every style under their vintage-store belts feel like an extension of the same history, the same creative urge, their same tastes
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6.3
101729
6.3 |
Earbuddy
First Aid Kit have expanded their sound for sure, but they lack the natural roar of their earliest albums
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6.0
101532
6.0 |
The Observer
Ruins starts with an impeccable run of five songs, where the Söderbergs work those sorrowful melodies and tongue-in-groove harmonies into gleaming shapes
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6.0
101654
6.0 |
Evening Standard
Business as usual
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6.0
101489
6.0 |
Drowned In Sound
First Aid Kit’s lack of edge is beginning to look less like prudent risk aversion and more like self-inflicted damage
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6.0
101516
6.0 |
The Independent
Tough stuff, tempered by the Soderbergs’ instinctive harmonies, which remain as sweet as ever
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6.0
101399
6.0 |
The Irish Times
Best of all is the single Fireworks, a soulful ballad of 1950s vintage that captures harmful self-doubt
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5.0
101502
5.0 |
Loud And Quiet
For better or worse ‘Ruins’ mostly stays well within the First Aid Kit wheelhouse
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5.0
101696
5.0 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Ruins lacks the main ingredients that make folk music so compelling — transparency, clarity, and emotion. They sing with beauty, they harmonize flawlessly, but the feels aren’t there
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4.5
101477
4.5 |
Spectrum Culture
Sounds like a failed copy of previously delightful pastiche
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4.0
101529
4.0 |
The FT
Slide guitars pull long faces, acoustic guitars shimmer, songs unfold with formulaic smoothness
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