(Virgin/EMI)

Folk songstress hits her stride on second album

Working with Ryan Adams’ producer Ethan Johns for her latest album I Speak Because I Can, Laura Marling really comes of age on the record – impressive, considering she’s still just 20 years of age. However, the new album sounds like a far more seasoned performer. Marling’s voice still containing hints of 10,000 Maniacs vocalist Natalie Merchant, but she also sounds more instantly striking, the poetics of these songs delivered with a conviction and confidence that immediately makes one sit up and take notice. It’s certainly a more convincing listen than her previous album, the lovely but overly slick Alas, I Cannot Swim. Opening track Devil’s Spoke begins with a wash of tone poem-style atmospherics, before transforming into a stomping piece of gonzo blues. She’s an expressionistic balladeer in Made By Maid, while Rambling Man could be one of the Bill, Mary & Tom “hip-country” numbers from Robert Altman’s Nashville. After this triumphant trio of songs, the record continues its strong appeal with the mysterious Eastern European epic refrain of Alpha Shallows, the snow-swept beauty of Goodbye England and the surprisingly upbeat (considering its title) Darkness Descends. With this album, Marling steps out of the murky background of anonymous singer-songwriters and becomes a genuinely intriguing presence.

****

MATT THROWER

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