Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can

 


Album: I Speak Because I Can
Artist: Laura Marling http://www.lauramarling.com/
Label: Virgin Records
Release date: March 22, 2010
Chart position/sales: (UK) GOLD

If you don’t like amazing young talent, a singer with a husky but impossibly pure voice, untamed yet elegant acoustic guitar playing, haunting melodies and rambling indie lyrics, stop reading here.

If you stopped reading there, you may need a check-up from the neck up. (I can safely say that, because obviously you are one of the cool people still reading. If you meant to stop reading but had a sneaky look at this paragraph, admit it – you’re cooler than you let on. Keep reading.) Anyway, British singer-songwriter Laura Marling is the sort of talent that makes you feel a little worried for not being successful at age 18…at the ripe old age of 20, she already has two (UK) gold albums under her belt and a bunch of fans hoping for more. After starting her career in the original line-up of indie band Noah And The Whale, Miss Marling has come a long way from her childish sweet looks to an understated haunting strength – both in her face and her voice – and is one of the most prominent performers in the English folk rock scene along with familiar names like Mumford & Sons.

I Speak Because I Can is only her second LP, following the 2008 release Alas, I Cannot Swim, but Marling is already so comfortable and masterful in her own style that you could mistake it for her 20th. Marling has described the theme of this album as “responsibility, particularly the responsibility of womanhood” (source) and displays an astonishing emotional maturity in the themes she chooses for her songs and the indie-style lyrics that describe them to us. Indie lyrics have always been something I’ve never bothered trying to decipher – they are what they are, no use pretending they adhere to any sort of familiar grammatical combinations – but Marling strings together her words of choice in a rambling yet sophisticated sort of poetry that never fails to hit home, even if they are a little cryptic at times.

This is no cutesy-singer/songwriter-arty-pop music though – Marling threads quirky, haunting melodies through a mix of folky jangling guitar patterns, wailing strings and tribal percussion to create charmingly sophisticated folk rock. There is a wild, untamed element to this music, whether it be the dangerously driving acoustic guitar riffs in the likes of “Devil’s Spoke” and (iTunes bonus track) “Nature Of Dust”, or her soaring, unbridled vocals on “Rambling Man” and the title track itself (which features backing vocals from Mumford & Sons’ Marcus Mumford). It is a beautifully balanced album, combining rougher, rockier tunes with heart wrenchingly gorgeous ballads. “Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)” pays tender tribute to Marling’s home country, while the reproachful vocal of “Hope In The Air” evokes a dark and moody side to the album.

It is difficult to find fault with this charming and mature collection of songs, whose sparkling musicality only becomes more apparent with each listening. Therefore I reacted in a considerably positive manner when I discovered that Marling’s next LP is scheduled for February this year - not a moment too soon. 4/5 stars


Listen to: Rambling Man, Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)


Is it worth my $$$? – I bought this album before I had finished writing this review and every time it ends I press replay. Judge for yourself.