[category]
[title]
Laura Marling had just turned 18 when she released Alas, I Cannot Swim, a startlingly mature 2008 debut that earned her heaps of critical praise. Seven years (and four albums) later, the London songwriter has finally shed the baggage of that success with her fifth record, Short Movie, an eclectic collection that feels like a fresh start.
That’s not to say the intervening work has been subpar: Marling’s superb catalog showcases her devastatingly deep voice and painterly approach to songcraft in reverently folky style. But Short Movie, written amid a yearlong break from touring—which Marling spent mostly in L.A., with all the desert wandering and canyon climbing that entails—ushers in a new phase. It’s not a surprise to hear that the album came after a period of reflection and self-discovery and drew on feelings of alienation from her exalted status as the millennial Joni Mitchell.
Here Marling’s truth-seeking lyrics tackle more contemporary topics, referencing Superstorm Sandy and a new obsession with mystics like filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. The self-produced album has a casual air, filled with electric-guitar swirls, violent crescendos and unnerving left turns.
“Who do you think you are / Just a girl that can play guitar?” Marling sings on the title track, reminding herself, and us, that she’s already so much more.—Andrew Frisicano