Possibly the best Laura Marling album since I Speak Because I Can, this gem of an album focuses on female or feminine relationships and experiences with each other and melancholy.
If Alas, I Cannot Swim is perceived as establishing Marling’s tone, and Once I Was An Eagle as challenging this with incorporating rock elements and interludes, this album fuses the two.
The steady and jazz-like riff running through the bass of ‘Soothing’ set the tone for a relaxing yet thought-provoking album. The modulation and use of strings in the chorus is a charming surprise.
The use of drums and confident guitar in ‘Wild Fire’ and ‘Nothing, Not Nearly’ matches the confident female-empowering lyrics throughout the album.
In ‘Nothing, Not Nearly’ the electric guitar’s syncopation, and rambling lyrics develop a folk-like mismatch of syllabic beat and musical beat:
We’ve not got long, you know
To bask in the afterglow
Once it’s gone it’s gone
Love waits for no one
Overall, the album uses elements of folk, rock and jazz to marry musical freedom and feminist poetry.
★★★★
Frances Wilde 