First Aid Kit - Stay Gold

On 180 gram vinyl, Stay Gold showcases First Aid Kit at their most expansive, the Swedish sisters' 2014 album where harmony-rich folk met full orchestral sweep.

Klara and Johanna Söderberg reunited with producer Mike Mogis, who had helmed The Lion's Roar, and headed to ARC Studios in Omaha, Nebraska. This time they brought in a 16-piece orchestra arranged by Nathaniel Walcott, writing for the first time beyond what a small touring band could recreate on stage. The album went on to win Album of the Year at Sweden's Grammis.

The title borrows from Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay," and the songs wrestle with change, impermanence and learning to appreciate what is. "My Silver Lining" sets off with a determined, hopeful stride, while "Cedar Lane" aches with quiet longing. The title track "Stay Gold" folds Frost's imagery into a swelling, string-laced ballad, and "Master Pretender" glows with easy Americana warmth and a sense of open roads.

Throughout, the sisters' close sibling harmonies remain the heart of everything, soaring over the strings and Mogis's spacious, carefully layered production with a clarity that still gives goosebumps.

For fans of country-tinged folk and big-hearted songwriting, this heavyweight pressing is a lovely way to live with one of their finest records.