One need only look to the sleeve of Larua Marling's second album to grasp the sense of a maturing artist. Pretty flowers and whimsical drawings have been replaced by a statuesque image of a striking young woman, one who has always had ambitions beyond her years and the potential to produce something truly remarkable.
The confidence to eschew any pretence of standard pop songs is immediately apparent. ‘Devil’s Spoke‘, for example, is an unashamedly folksy number driven by minor chords and frantic banjo. None of these roots are airbrushed away for easy radio-play, rather they are embraced and refined. Lyrics like Eye to eye/nose to nose/ripping off each other’s clothes/in the most peculiar way are delivered in breathless gaps between the storm and make for an intense and wonderful track.
There is little by way of cheer and the sad refrain of ‘Do not tempt me’ in What He Wrote has an uneasy air, the mood dark but beautiful. The voice is that of a world weary and sombre girl, not that of a girl of barely twenty-one. There has always been some of the melancholy about Ms Marling, yet this seems to come more naturally than the cheery numbers on the first album. Made by Maid has all the shuffling uncertainty of Neil Young or Joni Mitchell and simple songs and a reliance on deft guitar playing work beautifully throughout. The wistful air of ‘The grey in this city is too much to bear’ in Alpha Swallows is a constant presence.
And then there’s that voice. Blackberry Stone is whispered in velvet tones and produced with a minimalist hand that draws character from every glorious line. The song-writing has developed to match the vocals and I Speak Before I Can is a song of such raw quality that one remembers how rare such talent truly is. There is no-one else producing music like this and the understated excellence of this album is immensely satisfying. Ms Marling has found what she wants to do and the results show why she is one of the best artists around.
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