A companion piece to
First Aid Kit's January 2018 LP
Ruins, the appropriately titled
Tender Offerings presents four songs from the same recording sessions that were left off the album, mainly for thematic reasons. The Söderberg sisters still liked how the tracks turned out and wanted to share them, so they compiled this generally soft-spoken EP to follow eight months later. Not only are the songs worthy of their own release but, in most cases, quite moving, or even devastating, as in the case of "Ugly." A spare piano ditty that eventually adds a full band and vocal harmonies in the chorus, its early lyrics include "I thought if you found me pretty, then I'd be fine/I thought if you loved me, I'd be a person." It goes on to consider other attributes, like smarts and maturity, but they all get tangled up in misunderstanding and inadequacy (and eventually resilience). Like much of
First Aid Kit's material, particularly the break-up album
Ruins, its emotional anguish is offset by a catchy, lilting melody and vivid harmonies; it's sad and pretty. The unrequited-love ballad "I've Wanted You" also spotlights lyrics and Klara's poignant vocal delivery with an arrangement limited to arpeggiated acoustic guitar and light piano and organ. The title track goes on to encapsulate the spirit of the EP with the opening line "Perhaps I am bound to be restless/Always yearning, never satisfied." Still, the closer, "All That We Get" feels more uplifting, musically and lyrically, and without condescension; its decision to be grateful for what one does have is bittersweet. With four affecting, memorable songs, this is a release that fans and the folk-embracing discontented shouldn't overlook. ~ Marcy Donelson