New First Aid Kit video: It’s a Shame

Single out now on Columbia Records/Sony.

I’ve loved First Aid Kit since I first heard “Emmylou” five years ago with its references to Gram Parsons and Johnny Cash. When I finally got to see them live — at Lollapalooza 2015 — they were even more impressive. Lead singer Klara was intense and kind of brooding like Buffalo Springfield-era Neil Young, while her sister Johanna was an easy-breezy ray of smiles and flowing sleeves.

The video for “It’s a Shame” parodies that dichotomy with a split-screen stroll through the streets of Stockholm where the two sisters have opposite experiences. Klara told W magazine, “We like the idea of us not being together in the video. In all of our videos we’re always together, holding hands.” Not this time!

The song features the lovely sibling harmonies we’ve come to expect and sad lyrics about just needing a little hookup after a devastating breakup and then feeling bad about it.

Tell me it’s okay
If I ask you to stay
Sometimes the night cuts through me like a knife
I know it’s a shame

They say it’s about “How you want someone to numb the pain. Being alone with all your thoughts is too scary. There is something so sad in wanting someone else to tell you that you’re okay and that you’re not lost when in fact you are.”

First Aid Kit: web, twitter, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

Video: First Aid Kit – “Emmylou”