I think I should probably state this up front: there are few people to whom I prefer listening than Laura Marling. As far as I’m concerned, she’s one of the best artists around at the moment, in one of the most interesting music collectives that London has seen in a good while.
Now that my bias has been fully established, I can proceed with less guilt.
I Speak Because I Can is one of life’s small joys.
Not small because it isn’t a truly great album, but because it is so completely understated and unpretentious. The follow-up to Alas I Cannot Swim shows Laura Marling on her way to becoming one of the great songwriters working today.
At first listen you could be forgiven for thinking that this was a different artist. The shyness that always characterised Marling’s live performances is gone, and in its place is a vocal style that is more muscular, displaying a far greater range of emotions.
The sense of growing maturity can be seen lyrically, in songs that explore womanhood, loss and the pain of growing up. The cryptic wordplay that characterised her debut has been scrapped in favour of songs that are small stories in themselves. I love this album mainly for its lyrics, for the precise way in which Marling captures feelings, imagining her way into situations in a way which is haunting.
The standout track What He Wrote displays this. Addressed to the longest suffering wife in mythology, Hera, it was inspired by wartime letters between a soldier and his girl at home, and poignantly captures the difficulties of long-distance love. Listening to her sing ‘He had to leave, though I begged him to stay’, their pain becomes very present.
Musically, Marling has also changed, and the songs show a great diversity of sound. Overall the album is darker, from the banjo led stomp of Devil’s Spoke to the pared back simplicity of Made By Maid. It is also mercifully nothing like as overproduced as its predecessor. Ethan Jones’ production is unobtrusive, while also giving the album a “sound” as a whole.
If you are someone who will be put off by the label “folk”, then let this album be your opportunity to reconsider the genre. There is nothing beardy or vegan here, just a collection of beautiful songs which will stay with you long after the music stops.
five stars
