The Lion's Roar (album)

The Lion's Roar
Studio album by First Aid Kit
Released	18 January 2012 23 January 2012 (UK) 24 January 2012 (US)
Recorded	ARC Studios, Omaha, USA
Genre	Indie folk
Length	42:46 46:16 (iTunes edition) 53:30 (special edition box set)
Label	Wichita (UK) Redeye (USA)
Producer	Mike Mogis
First Aid Kit chronology
The Big Black & The Blue (2010) The Lion's Roar (2012) Stay Gold (2014)
Singles from The Lion's Roar
"The Lion's Roar" Released: 7 December 2011 "Emmylou" Released: 10 February 2012 "Blue" Released: 18 June 2012 "Wolf" Released: 17 September 2012

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

Professional ratings
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

iTunes bonus track
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Wolf"	3:40

Japanese edition
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Some Distant Memory"	5:05
12.	"The Lion's Roar" (live on KCRW)	4:29

Special edition box set bonus tracks
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 Chart (2012) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[19] 36 Austrian Albums Chart[15] 55 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[15] 30 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[15] 88 Danish Albums Chart[20] 14 Dutch Albums Chart[15] 41 Finnish Albums Chart[20] 19 Norwegian Albums Chart[21] 3 Swedish Albums Chart[15] 1 Swiss Albums Chart 76 UK Albums Chart[16] 35 US Billboard 200[22] 65 US Billboard Folk Albums[22] 4 US Billboard Independent Albums[22] 12 US Billboard Rock Albums[22] 17 US Billboard Tastemaker Albums[22] 11

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Sweden (GLF)[23] Platinum 40,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Gold 76,759[17] ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "The Lion's Roar Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
2. Freeman, John (2012-02-19). "Clash review". clashmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
3. Shaw, Natalie (2012-02-19). "BBC review". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
4. Clarke, Helen (2012-01-20). "musicOMH review". musicomh.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
5. Cooke, Robert (2012-01-20). "Drowned in Sound review". drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
6. Nicholson, Rebecca (2012-01-19). "The Guardian review". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
7. Gill, Andy (2012-01-19). "The Independent review". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
8. Maddux, Rachael (2012-01-24). "Pitchfork review". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
9. Lachno, James (2012-01-19). "The Daily Telegraph review". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
10. "First Aid Kit: The Lion's Roar :: Reviews :: Paste". Retrieved 2012-01-27.
11. "First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar Album Review for Pop 'stache".
12. http://shop.wichita-recordings.com/PhysicalProduct.aspx?pid=410&itemtype=CD
13. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-songs-of-2012-20121205/first-aid-kit-emmylou-19691231
14. http://www.expressen.se/noje/first-aid-kit-tog-hem-fyra-grammis/
15. Swedish Charts: The Lion's Roar album page
16. UK chart
17. "Country Bites News snippets June 9 - June 15, 2014". Country Routes News Blog. 21 June 2014.
18. "First Aid Kit Announce New Album 'Stay Gold' And Stream New Single 'My Silver Lining' [Listen]". Contack Music.
19. "Top 50 Albums Chart - Australian Recording Industry Association". ARIA. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
20. Danish The Lion's Roar album page
21. NorwegianThe Lion's Roar album page
23. "Veckolista Album - Vecka 29, 19 juli 2013" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Hitlistan.se. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
24. "British album certifications – First Aid Kid – The Lion's Roar". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Lion's Roar in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search