First Aid Kit cover R.E.M.’s “Walk Unafraid” — listen

Earlier this year, Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit released their third studio album, Stay Gold. Even with a collection of new songs at their disposal, however, the Söderberg sisters have recently made it a point to whip out the unexpected cover or two. Over the summer alone, First Aid Kit tackled both Jack White’s “Love Interruption” and Bright Eyes’ “Lua”. Now, for the upcoming soundtrack to Wild, they’ve reimagined R.E.M.’s 1998 song “Walk Unafraid”.

In true First Aid Kit fashion, the cover is stirring and intense, despite its minimalist, folk arrangements. Here, the sisters’ harmonies, so tight and piercing, take centerstage and are complemented nicely by a ghostly mix of dusty percussion and mournful strings.

Listen in below (via SPIN).

The Wild soundtrack also features Simon & Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, and Bruce Springsteen. The film, which stars Reese Witherspoon as a woman hiking the Pacific Crest Trail as a means of healing, hits theaters on December 5th.