Sisters Kara and Johanna Söderberg embody the phrase "beyond their years". As Swedish duo First Aid Kit, they've managed to capture generations' worth of American country and folk while still in their teens, and on their reverential 2012 hit "Emmylou" sounded as if they could already hold their own with their icon onstage. Time and touring have led the girls further from their youth, steeping the songs on their latest album, Stay Gold, with themes of heartache, doubt and homesickness. Yet their vigor remains, as the two prove in this gorgeously performed session at KEXP, their third in our studio. Stay old, stay young -- it doesn't matter when you're listening to the timeless songs of First Aid Kit.
It's shoegaze, not navelgaze. Oyama may have a strong My Bloody Valentine-streak, but the Icelandic five-piece have followed up their initial EP with an invigorated their sound on their debut LP, Coolboy, whose woozy, pitch-bending melodies range between airy dream pop and fuzzy psychedelia. We rec…
Northern soul? How about arctic soul? That's yet to be a thing, but if young Icelandic singer-songwriter Júníus Meyvant has anything to do with it, you'll be hearing a lot more similarly soul-stirring melodies from way up north. Júníus Meyvant -- real name Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson -- has yet to re…
