Laura Marling Performs Heart Exposing Live Set
Published
It’s no mean feat to sell out at the Southbank for four nights, but five albums in that’s exactly what Laura Marling has done. The prolific songstress holds court in a room where you could hear a pin drop, but not before Gill Landry plays her in.
Marling’s support Gill Landry is humble and devilishly sharp on the fret board. The guitar work is so effortless that it’s as if it comes from two. Hailing from Louisiana where he once busked, the blues can get a little derivative, but are charming and upbeat. Indeed he’s excessively charming and I find my inner girl giggling away at the endearing country blues that follows. Marling has guested on a single on Landry’s new album, 'Take This Body'. In her place, in his support slot he introduces a violinist, her voice blending smoothly with Landry’s.
Laura Marling fades into view in the tense atmosphere at Queen Elisabeth Hall; the backdrop the Californian desert, a film running from sunrise to sunset marking her US stay that had led to a flicker of an accent. Sporting a chic, sharp pixie cut the main event has always been the dazzling ease with which Marling’s voice fluctuates and glides around the notes, absolutely effortless. The songs take second fiddle to this venerable weapon, melting the venue before it realises it’s been holding its breath.
The bluesy style that seems to accompany Marling’s foray in the States is comforting in its familiarity. It’s not a jarring departure though – tracks like "How Can I" from new album 'Short Movie' still encapsulate her folksy whimsy. Marling reputedly nearly walked away from music after scrapping an entire album while in the US as well as er… trying at joining a cult one afternoon. "False Hope’s" buzzy guitars frame lyrics that suggest Marling doesn’t know how to be alone but her style suggests otherwise. It feels like she’s shifted; there’s more confidence, more independence. She embraces her self-imposed isolation and defies the audience to suggest otherwise. Rock ‘n’ roll has brought maturity. "Walk Alone" is intended to be wistful but there is an underlying bravery at the prospect of walking away from the drama and complications that sometimes come from being with someone. Yet the acute depth of the lyrics delivered in such cavalier style can make the performance seem quite detached.
"Rambling Man" is a little rushed – perhaps Marling is bored of it – but "I Feel Your Love" is particularly beautiful, moody and beefed up compared to the album. "Goodbye England (Covered with Snow)" is mournful and melancholy over her departure from the UK to the Orange County. "What He Wrote" dances around the topic of the letters between a couple in World War II. "Strange", aggressively spoken, is deliciously stream of consciousness, running together in a flow of ideas which must “keep moving”. Set opener "Howl" is delicately poised to induct us to the fretwork to follow.
Of course the folksy heart-exposing yet oblique style of Marling is still in evidence, peppered throughout the 90 minute set, but she fits into the Americana brogue so easily it doesn’t seem like an a unnatural pathway.
Marling’s songs tend to consist of verses and bridges – the concept of a chorus is few and far between. While the idle listen in the car or the commute lends itself to this, the lack of crescendo in a live arena puts a pressure on the audience. Sometimes it feels like there’s no high point, but with such a voice its hard not to be entranced.
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Words by Amy Vickery
