#3 – Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
Before I get into this album, I just have a confession to make. I absolutely fancy Laura. It’s pretty embarrassing, actually, and I’m wildly biased concerning her work. I think she’s lovely, has the voice of an angel, and everyone should listen to her music. What? I’m so glad she stumbled into my musical life earlier this year and I’ve been sharing her stuff with my friends ever since like I’m spreading the Gospel or something. Anyway, alongside Mumford & Sons (who, oddly enough, have taken to being *her* backing band on occasion. Look.) she’s been one of the spearheads of a sort of folk revival in the UK for the last few years.
I’ve been a little all over the place concerning this album for a bit. In fact it’s slowly crawled up the list recently as it really is “grower” of an album. That’s a good thing, as the songs slowly get into you, but it took me awhile. I loved her debut, “Alas, I Cannot Swim”, and have probably spent an exuberant amount of time needlessly comparing “I Speak Because I Can” unfairly to its predecessor. It is a pretty different work, if for no other reason than you can hear the maturity in her voice and the songwriting is a little more dynamic. I also was not in love with lead single, “Devil’s Spoke” just because the vibe is rather out of step with almost everything else she’s done, and it certainly (to me) feels a bit out of place on this album. This, as always, could be just me.
I read a review of this album recently which had the subtitle “Twenty is the new 347” as in her previous outing, as well as in this set, Laura always exudes the soul of someone far older than the 20 years she’s spent on the planet would suggest. The title track, “I Speak Because I Can”, gives me chills every time I hear it as you feel the struggle, longing and pain of the protagonist of the narrative. In fact, much of the album interweaves these themes although not everywhere. In “Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)” we are offered with an ironically warm tribute to home and love, with certain shades thrown in. Sometimes it’s the little things as in “Hope in the Air” even though I love the song as a whole, there’s just something about her intonation when she sings “…your last serving daughter!!” that always gets me. I can’t really properly explain. The fierce independence in “Rambling Man” is interestingly juxtaposed to the dynamics of the music set to the lyric.
Anyway, I was almost tempted to jump her up another spot, but #3 I think feels right. All I know is that she’s two for two on albums and the fact that she’s not a massively popular artist is beyond me. However, I’ve said *that* before. So take in these videos and then rush out and snap up everything she’s put out. Now. Stat. I’m not kidding. Enjoy.
Blackberry Stone
Alpha Shallows
Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)
Made by Maid
No comments:
Post a Comment