With the rise and fall and rise, again, of Fiona Apple, is it possible that other female singer-songwriters have taken the angst queens place? While Foreign Slippers (alias of Swede, Gabrielle Froden) may not have that power in her melodies, her lyrics truly pack a punch. It’s always a hit and miss with singer-songwriters nowadays, most can be boring and repetitive and get immediately tossed into my computer’s trash can, but Foreign Slippers’ album, Farewell To the Old Ghosts certainly hooked me from the first track so aptly titled, “It All Starts Now”. What I thought would be simply simple acoustic guitars, I was grossly mistaken–full of wind instruments, drums, brass instruments and yes, the occasional acoustic guitar. Instead of a quieted singer, she is more like Annie Clark of St. Vincent or even Regina Spektor in her more wilder days. With quite a beautiful vibrato, it seems Froden was classically trained, and if not, she deserves praise for her ability to sing like an angel. She has that smoky jazz quality while being able to still fall into the “indie female rockers” genre, and it completes the album. But first, let’s break down why this record is perfect and now on repeat –firstly, her songs are refreshingly new with repetitious melodies that evolve into a whole other being during a 4 minute song and while sometimes the songs linger they complete the whole story of the song, specific rhythms may change, but it always returns to the beginning but is never the same and it takes a real musician to be able to accomplish that. Next, the lyrics are frighteningly resonant and relatable–without fluffing up the lyrics, Froden tells it like it is. Towards the end of her album, the song “Is That You” is perfect for the experience of seeing your ex and wondering why, “I saw you in the light of day, you didn’t look that pretty anymore, there was something about you I hadn’t noticed the night before.” If there is one thing I love in indie music is the ability to be completely honest in a song, lyrics wise, and allow the lyrics to tell a story that everyone has experienced . It makes music so much more personal, and Foreign Slippers. With all of these qualities melding together to form this album that is shockingly full of surprises in every song, it’s no wonder that Foreign Slippers has been on repeat, for there is nothing more exciting than an album the revives your love for music in a 45 minute album.
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