Culture Revival

There are so many reasons to fall in love with Laura Marling‘s music. The natural lyrical flair, the fragile and stunning vocal quality, and the utterly genius construction and arrangement of every single song. These are the facts that those who have heard Marling – whether first album ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’ or at one of her tremendous silence-inducing live shows – accept without question. The Mercury-nominated musician, still only the tender age of 20, had inadvertently set up very high expectations for ‘I Speak Because I Can’, released today through Virgin Records.

Laura truly has nothing to worry about in meeting those expecations, however, because from the very first listen, it’s clear that her sophomore album has far exceeded them. Effortlessly creative and so incredibly intelligent, there isn’t one song on ‘I Speak Because I Can’ that could be considered a low point.

Opening with new single ‘Devil’s Spoke’, Laura demonstrates a new maturity and (if possible) an even wiser and more interesting songwriting style, that seems to draw on new sources in its influences – certainly her associations with Mumford & Sons and their bluegrass-leaning sound are fluent on this release, as well as a world music feel that replaces the pop undertones of her debut. It’s all done terribly well and everything attempted is pulled off wonderfully. Definite album highlights include ‘Rambling Man’ and ‘Hope In The Air’, but I can honestly say that every track has a genuine appeal.

Given Laura’s romantic history with Noah And The Whale frontman Charlie Fink, and the lyrically painful subject matter of the band’s second album which documents the breakdown of Fink and Marling’s relationship in a most public way, it’s difficult not to make certain inferences between ‘I Speak Because I Can’ and the Noah And The Whale sophomore album ‘The First Days Of Spring’.

‘Blackberry Stone’ is the only track on the album that seems to directly refer to both the relationship and her former band, with the lyrics “I’d be sad that I never held your hand as you were lowered” seeming to point directly to the Noah And The Whale song ‘Hold My Hand As I’m Lowered’ from the band’s first album. If you listen with intent, however, the album seems to explore the breakdown of a relationship with somebody who has become impossible to love, the jealousy of a man who can no longer comprehend friendship on a basic level, and the idea of moving on and finding a new and exciting love that isn’t painful.

This is a truly brilliant masterpiece of an album that goes beyond expectation on every level. Laura’s definitely grown up and moved on – so much for Charlie’s hope that “I’ll come back to you in a year or so”. Bless.