Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
ARTIST........: Laura Marling
TITLE.........: Alas I Cannot Swim
LABEL.........: Virgin Records
URL...........: http://www.lauramarling.com/
GENRE.........: Alternative
QUALITY:......: 174 kbps avg/ 44100Hz / Joint Stereo
RIP DATE......: 2008-02-03
RELEASE DATE..: 2008-00-00
Tracklist:
----------
01. Ghosts 3:01
02. Old Stone 2:59
03. Tap At My Window 2:47
04. Failure 3:21
05. You're No God 2:27
06. Cross Your Fingers 2:23
07. Crawled Out Of The Sea (Interlude) 1:16
08. My Manic And I 3:56
09. Night Terror 3:09
10. The Captain And Hourglass 3:09
11. Shine 2:39
12. Your Only Doll (Dora) 7:18
Total 38:25
Release Notes:
Listening to Laura Marling's debut album makes you realise how inaccurate
shoving people into 'scenes' can be.
When Marling first appeared last year with a couple of low-key EPs and the
inevitable MySpace following, some journalists were quick to label her part of
the 'LDN songstress' group, purely because she's young, female and comes from
the south of England. In actual fact, she's about as far removed from Lily
Allen, Kate Nash and Adele as...well, they are from each other.
In fact, if there's one female songwriter who Marling does resemble, it's
Kathryn Williams. Her songs are similarly sparse and fragile, with some
astonishingly mature lyrics framed by beautifully pretty melodies. At first
listen, it all sounds a bit dirge like, but once you hear the album a number of
times, her talent becomes clear to see.
Alas I Cannot Swim opens incredibly strongly with Ghosts, already one of the
contenders for single of the year. It's a beautifully frail song, embellished
with some lovely harmonies and lyrics that hint at an old head on young
shoulders - "Lover please don't fall to your knees, it's not like I believe in
ever lasting love" runs the refrain.
On first hearing, you may think this is a purely acoustic album, but repeated
listens throw up some subtle treats - such as the muted trumpet on Failure, the
strange, eerie near-tango melody of the 'interlude' of Crawled Out Of The Sea,
or the way that Cross Your Fingers (a future single, surely?) skips along
beautifully.
Marling has a strong voice, and she doesn't have to resort to wailing or
stretching out her vowels either. At times, she reminds one of Beth Orton, at
others her contemporary Emmy The Great is brought to mind. Yet she's more of a
songwriter than a singer - listen to the dark lyrics of Night Terror ("I woke up
and he was screaming, I'd left him dreaming") which slowly builds up the dread
quite expertly.
My Manic And I treads a similarly dark path while sounding deceptively pretty,
while Your Only Doll showcases her way with intriguing lyrics. The only
criticism may be that there isn't much variety here, with all songs sticking to
a similar tempo and feel - but then again, you don't expect Laura Marling to
suddenly start competing for the title 'Queen of Crunk'.
Sadly, there's no room for two of Marling's most impressive early songs, New
Romantic or London Town - but if she can easily fill a 12 track album without
reverting to her early songbook, that has to bode extremely well for her future.
As indeed does this album.