The fairly bizarrely-named Foreign Slippers, AKA Gabrielle Frödén, is a Swedish singer-songwriter ”“ and currently, a pretty obscure one. But on the basis of this EP, Oh Death, I for one wouldn't bet against her fragile arrangements and beautiful voice helping her become more widely known.These five songs are sparse ”“ small, fairly brief tales of heartache, dreaming, and meditations on (unsurprisingly) death. These tales are heard from that aforementioned voice, and wrapped up in delicate piano, subtle acoustic guitar, gently brushed drums, and intermittent washes of strings, along with all kinds of other fragile instrumental touches. The pace is steady across the EP - a kind of slow, meditative journeying feel, although “Don't Go” does have a curious, waltzing lilt to it. This isn't a record that makes big, bold statements ”“ neither lyrically nor musically ”“ but it does have an intoxicating, quiet appeal. This is the kind of music that should given the fullness of your intention, so that its uncomplicated, pretty instrumentation and Frödén's warm, versatile voice can shine through. Opener “Packed The Car” contains a terrific image - “I used to dream I could fall / Through my bedroom wall / If I held the right thought / Long enough” - that is delivered with as much panache as it was written. Its twinkling piano notes and plodding, snapping drums make it an almost ghostly, haunting way to start the record. “Don't Go” is a little more guitar-driven, but to call it “driven” at all would be a bit of a misnomer. It has another magnificently fragile chorus that makes you think the disc will shatter if you turn it up too loud, and the intensity of its slow waltz increases ever so slowly as the song's tender break-up plays out.The title track, “Oh Death” builds in a similar way, eventually almost flirting with the potential possibility of a truly epic closing section ”“ but that's not the Foreign Slippers style, and its admirably restrained conclusion is a genuine highlight of a deep, moving set of songs.

Oh Death is subtle, sparse, and quiet ”“ but it is also moving, dramatic, wonderfully sung, and a very impressive piece of work indeed. If and when a full-length Foreign Slippers album emerges (which I hope it does) then a few more slightly upbeat songs wouldn't go amiss, but to have included such songs here would only spoil Oh Death's fragile, twinkling beauty. Quite an experience. 83%

Foreign Slippers on MySpace