The Verse’s Lou Clement reviews Laura Marling’s performance at Brighton Dome on the 16th March.
Laura Marling simmers away on the music horizon and now and then you hear a track and are reminded of how wonderful her music is. Beneath the image of the nu-folk songstress’ image is an intelligent discourse. This is of course related through her lyrics and music, but also through her other projects; she has lately published a podcast, it’s simply billed as about creativity and women and it’s an open ended discussion about making connections.
Tonight, Marling is at the Brighton Dome. I’m perched way up in the upper stalls. Below, the ground floor is cleared of chairs and the most devoted fans line the stage barrier as the room fills up. It’s a sold out gig and testament to Marling’s appeal and oeuvre. She has just released her sixth album, Semper Femina. The opening track on the album is the soft jazz-like track Soothing, which is filled with a lilt of melancholy. It’s this that she opens the set with, guitar in hand and the mic stand swathed in foliage. The audience is quiet as the set proceeds. Particularly stand out songs were She wrote. In this, Laura Marling shares moments of sadness, emotion and hope through her beautiful voice and the stories she tells in her music. It’s then I remember she is only 27 and she has released six albums. The unblinking confidence in her performance is part of her experience and her appeal.
She closed with the 2011 track Rambling man, released the same year she won an NME award and a Brit award. The blend of folk and pop raises the appeal of an artist with an important agenda and the method to deliver it. I look forward to see what she does next, it seems like she is looking to connect with a community, deliver her own message and produce brilliant music all at the same time; I’m sure there is much more to come.
Laura Marling’s podcast is available here, titled Reveral of the Muse; she continues her UK wide tour following the release of her latest album Semper Femina, this year.
