Deerpark's first recording is an EP of remarkable maturity. Successfully combining the French duo's ghostly folk with Rachel McWatt's string arrangements (which are integral to the melodies as opposed to being mere decoration), the group's songs are particularly powerful because they stay tight. They eschew indulgent progressions for short, pointed and often devastatingly beautiful song structures. What's more, lead vocalist John Marshall and co-songwriter Kamran Ali top off lovely melodies with equally impressive lyrics, not unlike Bonnie "Prince" Billy's I See a Darkness. It Made Her Look Spidery's wholly different instrumental ethic is the cardinal departure.

Opener "Burning Photos" moves deftly through a simple but gorgeous acoustic melody, after which a sublime double bass fills out a two chord alternation and leads the track into a forest of mournful violin. Marshall carries a precarious and vulnerable Jeff Tweedyesque vocal melody, singing in a ghostly almost-whisper, "If the past is fine / Then why are you burning photos in your mind?" The measured progression repeats once more, until you can barely hear Marshall humming a counter-melody to the swelling and subsiding strings.

The remaining tracks never dip below the high standard set by "Burning Photos". "Wolf Song"'s deep, foreboding thicket of acoustic guitar and strings is interwoven with clean, pretty poetry; Marshall whispers, "I caught you knocking at the door of my house / Looking helpless in the night", and "I like you here / But I've got demons to fight / So don't come near me tonight." Opting for straightforward lyrics instead of inscrutable metaphors, he consistently matches quietly affecting words to the group's bittersweet music. Lines like "I thought I heard your sweet singing / Whilst I was falling asleep" are spread over a landscape of stark violin and plucked strings, imbued with a kind of lonely resignation that's devoid of melodrama or self-pity.

Importantly, Deerpark demonstrate a healthy degree of variety in their songwriting while keeping their folk ethic intact. "Circa 85E", the EP's astounding highlight, pushes forward on an urgent rhythm, blooming in a stunning climax of strings, horns and even woodwinds. Each instrument contributes its texture to a swirling, intoxicating rush of a finale that's far different from the EP's remaining fare.

With any luck, It Made Her Look Spidery will earn Deerpark some well-deserved attention and more praise than I have space for here. As artists like Devendra Banhart revitalize folk in 2004, this EP asserts Deerpark's place among the genre's finest new talents. They are stellar songwriters, not to be missed.