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Tag Archives: laura marling
Playlist: March 2013
I’ve been in China for the last month, hence the lack of blog posts. But now I have so much to share with you, so watch out for lots of amazing tracks over the next few days and weeks.
Today I thought I’d post a playlist I made at the end of March featuring all my favourite tracks from the month.
Laura Marling- Where Can I Go?
Taken from her new record ‘Once I Was An Eagle’ which is out May 27th. Excitement doesn’t even cover it.
Laura Marling- To Be A Woman
I got this song on Laura Marling’s exclusive record store day 7″ release and absolutely fell in love with the track. It’s a shame really that someone has put it online, it deserves to be listened to on vinyl, and it deserves that mystery that it had before when only a few people had heard it.
But anyway it’s online and so now you deserve to hear it too. This is my new favourite Laura Marling song, just to die for. Amazing.
Filed under Music
Record Store Day 2012
For any vinyl lover, Record Store Day is always pretty excited and highly anticipated. This year it falls tomorrow. Record store shops up and down the UK will be hosting live bands, selling exclusive content and perhaps doing lots of other lovely things.
This year, as usual, there is a whole heap of amazing artists releasing exclusive content. Here is a few of my top picks of that content. Head down to your local record store to pick up some of it and find out more about record store day here.
Laura Marling releases an exclusive 7″ single of Flicker and Fail with B-Side To Be A Woman (not previously released).
Arcade Fire release this 12″ featuring Sprawl II, my favourite track from their last killer album The Suburbs.
Beach House release a new track from their upcoming record ‘Bloom’. The track is called Lazuli and is another lovely dose of Beach House-y dream pop.
Edward Sharpe release a 7″ single of Love One Another. The track is taken from there new album which is out in May and is called ‘HERE’.
The wonderful Civil Wars are releasing the song ‘Dance me to the End of Love’ on 7″ with b-side ‘I Want you Back.
And so much more! Check it out here. If you are in London, head down to Rough Trade East where there is loads of stuff going on all day including an instore from Johnny Flynn.
Filed under Features
Albums of 2011: 2. Laura Marling- A Creature I Don’t Know
So in case anyone was unaware, I really love Laura Marling. I loved her first album, I loved her second album, and I also love this album. I think she speaks to women in a way that no one else does at the moment, I sort of see her as a Joni Mitchell of our time. A songwriter and singer which has an incredible amount of influence on certain people’s lives, someone a lot of us won’t forget for years to come.
This album shows a further growth in maturity in Laura’s voice and songwriting and also in the arrangements. Opening track ‘The Muse’ could almost have been taken from Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark, with its jazz sensibilities. ‘I Was Just A Card’ begins gently with the line ‘I was just a card/caught up in the stars/looking down from Mars’ before the cello and drum line kicks in and the track continues to develop with the addition of brass instruments. Don’t Ask Me Why tells tales of loneliness and the narration in Salinas opens like a Bob Dylan track.
The Beast is something none of us were expecting, a broading track at almost 6 minutes with heavy instrumentation towards the end, making for the first time, Laura’s voice not the primary thing you hear. Night After Night is the only solo track on the record, just Laura and her guitar, which is honesty where I like her music best. Sophia, the first single from the record is a highlight with its repeating ‘I’m wounded by dust’ line. Final track ‘All My Rage’ is more bustly and more confident than anything ever produced from Ms Marling before. Her voice is louder and more shrill, and the country-like instrumentation heavier.
Throughout her voice is rich, and the songwriting full of emotion, unanswered questions and wisdom beyond her years. This album has been the highlight of a brilliant year for Laura where she won a Brit, and arguably entered the mainstream. But she manages to do it while keeping her integrity as an artist intact. At only 21 years old, she will undoubtably continue to flourish and will continue to make greater and greater albums.
Standout Tracks: Sophia, Night after Night, The Muse.
Filed under Best of 2011
New Music 24
The new Bombay Bicycle Club album ‘A Different Kind of Fix’ is insanely good. One of the best albums of this year so far. This is Shuffle which is the current single from the album but you really must check out the whole thing!
A brand new gorgeous Lucy Rose song is out today, you can buy it on iTunes. It’s called Scar and features Jack Steadman from Bombay Bicycle Club.
A really beautiful song from Our Feathered Embers now! The single is to be released on October 3rd on handmade, hand stamped CD’s which will be sold at gigs and hopefully online too. They have a single launch at 93 feet East on the 3rd October too.
I am really in love with this little instrumental tune from Shura + Hiatus, you can download it for free too!
Another album I am loving at the moment is the new Grouplove album. Its a wonderful mixture of super happy pop songs fresh from California. The album is called ‘Never Trust a Happy Song’ which considering that all the songs on the album are remarkably happy, is probably one of the best album titles of this year.
And another great album that came out last week, the second from Slow Club. This is my favourite song from it so far. They tour the UK pretty soon, go and see them! Brilliant live band.
I haven’t yet raved about the new Laura Marling yet, but as expected, I am in love. She has gone more Joni Mitchell which I am so glad to see. This is one of my favourite tracks from it, and also the first track, The Muse.
And finally. You should be very, very excited to hear this EP. She is wonderful.
Filed under New Music #
Festival Review: End of the Road 2011
I had huge expectations for End of the Road festival, the perfect line-up, the non-corporate sensibility, the gorgeous setting, the right sort of crowd, would I be disappointed? No. Its every bit as lovely as expected.
For me, End of the Road was completely about the music, I saw so many wonderful sets and came across so many fantastic bands. The additional site features were an extra, but a much enjoyed extra. The Rough Trade Shop was a great idea and had several band signings daily. The woodland area was lit up beautifully with lots of wonderful secrets to be unfolded as you walked through the trees. The atmosphere was peaceful and family friendly, it’s about as far from Reading and Leeds as you can get.
And the music, well, WOW. Joanna Newsom headlined the Sunday night, my main reason for attending the festival and I was completely blown away. She was heavenly and I was so grateful to get the opportunity to see her in that setting. The audience was quiet as a mouse, quite unusual for a 12,000 capacity venue. Joanna played completely solo and I think everyone of those 12,000 people was captivated by her sound. She is such an incredible talent and I shall wait in anticipation for her return to the UK.
Other highlights included, of course, Miss Marling who previewed many tracks from her new (and incredible) album ‘A Creature I Don’t Know’ (buy it now!!!). Josh T. Pearson provided humor amongst his 6 minute long break up songs and was a delight to see. Other Lives lived up to the praise I have given there album ‘Tamer Animals’. Willy Mason, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Staves were also all as lovely as ever. My two favorite new finds of the weekend were Dan Mangan and The Mountaineering Club.
Dan Mangan has the voice of Marcus Mumford but possesses a more chilled out country sound than the sons. At the end of the performance, which was on the main stage, he came right into the crowd and got everyone singing along. Truly in the EOTR spirit.
The Mountaineering Club were incredible and I will be writing more about them soon. A sound incredibly unique and voice which couldn’t fit more perfectly, it was one of my favorite performances of the weekend.
Overall, EOTR was a wonderful experience and I glad I got to go and experience what all the hype about the festival is about! They are starting a second festival next year in early June called ‘No Direction Home’ I am very excited about what we can expect from that!
Filed under Festivals, Gig Reviews
My Musical Profile: Laura Boyle
Welcome to the first of a brand new feature on my blog, My Musical Profile. The idea is to get artists I like to answer a couple of questions about the music they love. I hope that from it you will find something new to love and listen to and hopefully I will too! I am delighted to say that the first of these posts comes from the stunning Laura Boyle.
When I first heard Laura Boyle I knew she was something very special. I have followed her now for several months and her development is wonderful to watch and it was a true delight to have her play the Mountain Bea show at the Gallery Cafe. I am sure we can expect much, much more from this young lady. Here is a demo of her latest song which you can grab as a free download!..
My favourite Bands/Artists (Also my dream line-up!);
Fleet Foxes/Laura Marling/Jackson C.Frank/Johnny Cash/ Mumford & Sons/ First Aid Kit/ Joni Mitchell/ Bon Iver/ Nick Drake/Lucy Rose/Peggy Sue/Slow Club/ Dry The River/ Alessi’s Ark.
My favourite Album; right now would probably be ‘A Creature I Don’t Know’, but I’ve been listening to ‘Acrobats’ (Peggy Sue) and ‘Paradise’ (Slow Club) and think both of those records are pretty amazing.
My favourite song;
‘Blue Spotted Tail’ is a song that I literally haven’t stopped listening to since I first heard it. It’s something about the lyrics, and Robin Pecknold’s voice… Everything about that song is captivating.
My favourite gig;
Ah, I have quite a few. I went to Mumford & Sons’ album launch in a barn in Hertfordshire; the atmosphere at that gig was just extraordinary… Oh, when I was about 13 or 14, I saw Laura Marling play in a church in Piccadilly. It was the first time I was able to see her live, and most of the church was lit by candles. So that would probably be my favourite gig.
My favourite lyric;
It’s probably between, ‘Why is life made only for to end? Why do I do all this waiting then? Why this frightened part of me that’s fated to pretend?’ (Blue Spotted Tail/Fleet Foxes) or ‘Someday someone will leave you, and I know you’ll feel the same. You’ll mark it down to memory and the dream that never came’ (You Never Wanted Me /Jackson C.Frank)
My favourite new band/artist;
Ellie Makes Music writes absolutely beautiful songs, I went on holiday recently and couldn’t stop listening to the songs on her soundcloud. I also really like Lucy Rose, and I’ve only recently heard Emily & The Woods, but I think she’s got a wonderful voice.
Right now I love;
Herbal tea, my new guitar, and open tunings. Oh, and the fact it’s quickly becoming winter!
Wonderful music taste would you not agree!? Laura Boyle also plays The Betsy Trotwood with Laura Hocking and Bella Spinks on October 19th. Lots more of these posts to come soon I hope.
Filed under Interview
10 Acts to catch at End Of The Road Festival 2011
This year will be my first End of the Road. Every year it boasts a wonderful line-up and every year I afterwards get told how wonderful it is as a festival, well this year I decided it was a must. And when Joanna Newsom was announced as a headliner, there was really no question for me about whether or not to go. Tickets have sold out but if you are going, here’s a few of my recommended must sees (although theres barely a bad band on the line-up!).
1. Joanna Newsom
The gorgeous, amazing Joanna Newsom will headline the final night of End of the Road festival. Do not miss this!
2. Laura Marling
Always stunning, look out for her experiments in awkwardness which have been happening at most of the festivals she’s played this summer. Keep up to date with her twitter to find out more.
3. Willy Mason
My highlight of Wood Festival and still one of my highlights of the summer. He’s good on record but really out-do’s himself live, completely stunning.
4. Other Lives
A band I have done a fare bit of blogging about the past few months. They make quite an exciting experimental folk sound and definitely not one to miss.
5. The Staves
One of the most beautiful new live acts around. Harmonies that will melt your mind.
6. Nathaniel Rateliff
Someone who I always love to watch live. Flawless voice and wonderful onstage character.
7. Caitlin Rose
I’ve seen Caitlin countless times but wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see her again.
8. Beirut
Disappointed me in Hyde Park but impressed me at Benicassim. Who knows what they’ll be like when they headline End of the Road…
9. Best Coast
Guaranteed to bring super happy vibes to a possibly dull and dreary English day.
10. Big Deal
You can catch the first listen of their upcoming debut album ‘Lights’ over on NME at the moment. Its woozy, lazy day summery loveliness. All very simple songs with a dreamy edge.
