Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
MagnetApr 17, 2018When they open up and truly let go, they achieve states of near euphoria and joyous magnificence. [No. 150, p.56]
-
Feb 14, 2018Ruins is an affecting, comforting listen, but not one that will imprint itself too vividly in the memory.
-
Feb 1, 2018Wherever you listen, Ruins pairs tough truths and tender melodies with tremendous expressive punch, from the piercing self-investigations of the title-track to Hem Of Her Dress, where heartache and rage merge with raucous honesty. Meanwhile, Nothing Has To Be True hews beauty from transformative circumstance.
-
Jan 26, 2018Ruins isn’t a bad record, or a weak one, it’s a boring one.
-
Jan 24, 2018While not their best, Ruins certainly stands as First Aid Kit’s most cohesive album, focused on the determination of moving forward from heartbreak.
-
Jan 23, 2018It’s the last three songs that push an already arresting album to the next level.
-
Jan 22, 2018The album’s second half glides hazily by, never actually disappointing, but maintaining a mid-tempo pensiveness that is a little too comforting for comfort.
-
Jan 22, 2018The new album’s particular saving grace is its self-loathing streak, the sense that scales have fallen from eyes and that Stay Gold’s nebulous disaffection has soured to regret.
-
Jan 19, 2018This is just another good First Aid Kit album, one that suggests their peak hasn’t yet been reached.
-
Jan 19, 2018Their voices complement each other so naturally and so gracefully that it’s easy to forget how much craft there is in these songs, and how much ingenuity they put into their vocals.
-
Jan 19, 2018There’s much to be said for the familiar, when it’s delivered with such grace.
-
Jan 19, 2018It’s a very familiar take on Americana, full of heartbreak and yearning, but a damn reliable one.
-
Jan 19, 2018First Aid Kit’s latest may be a slightly more conservative gesture than their last record, but it synthesizes their many musical strains more fully than ever before.
-
Jan 19, 2018Ruins is a thoroughly pretty piece of work, lovingly presented. The question hanging over it, though, is how long First Aid Kit can get away with making revisions to the original model before the law of diminishing returns begins to kick in hard.
-
Jan 19, 2018It’s a classic high-quality, well-arranged and passionate album from First Aid Kit, but this time--it’s not so innocent.
-
Jan 19, 2018First Aid Kit does not reinvent the wheel on this fourth record. Ruins sticks to the well-trodden path of Americana, and does so with guns blazing.
-
Jan 18, 2018At times, the musical ornamentation feels too much. But when those two voices combine, it all falls away.
-
Jan 18, 2018Ruins is never complacent, though, keeping its rough, rustic edges, and allowing for the sounds of fingers on frets on quieter tunes like "To Live a Life." Lyrics don't put on a false front, either, and that's ultimately what makes the album linger.
-
Jan 18, 2018The album has a bruised but tough essence, which comes across in 10 elegantly tailored songs detailing a disintegrating relationship.
-
Jan 17, 2018Ruins doesn't aim to re-write the indie-folk/country rule book, rather, the Söderberg sisters are just fine-tuning their craft and growing into a comfortable groove.
-
Jan 17, 2018It’s tough stuff, tempered by the Soderbergs’ instinctive harmonies, which remain as sweet as ever, and the inventive folk-rock arrangements textured with typical empathy by producer Tucker Martine, involving members of R.E.M., Midlake and Wilco.
-
Jan 16, 2018Ruins might see the band playing it safe, but rarely are safety manuals this stunning.
-
Jan 12, 2018Lyrically and sonically, Ruins helps First Aid Kit gives listeners a mature, realized and often heartbreaking version of this young band's oeuvre.
-
MojoJan 9, 2018There is pain here. The results, though, are delicious. [Feb 2018, p.97]
-
Q MagazineJan 9, 2018The results are ferociously good. [Feb 2018, p.106]
-
UncutJan 9, 2018For now Ruins keeps First Aid Kit moving forward, empowered rather than overcome by the wrath of love. [Feb 2018, p.25]
-
Jan 9, 2018The album's lyrics are full of heartbreak and dashed dreams, so perhaps it was the Söderbergs' fragile state of mind that inspired them to venture tentatively out of their comfort zone.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 33 out of 42
-
Mixed: 7 out of 42
-
Negative: 2 out of 42
-
Feb 8, 2018
-
Jan 20, 2018
-
Jun 4, 2019This album shows great songwriting maturity,this combined with a fuller more adventurous production has resulted in a minor classic ,Bravo ladies.