Swedish singer-songwriter Stina Nordenstam may not exactly be a household name but her growing legion of celebrity fans means that she's unlikely to remain a secret for much longer. Like her fellow countrywoman Nina Persson of the Cardigans, she specialises in poignant little odes to suffering and loss, sung in a cool, deadpan voice that should steal the hearts of romantic young men everywhere. Everything about This Is. feels delicate and minimal - on some songs you get the distinct impression that every note has been deliberated on for a week before being committed to record. The result is an album of melancholic, late-night listening which occasionally errs on the wrong side of insipid, but under the right circumstances sounds nothing less than sublime.
