Laura Marling had an early arrival to the limelight, but that hasn’t hindered her in her success or development as an artist. At 27 years old, the British songstress could sit aside greats such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen and effortlessly hold her own.
Releasing her latest album Semper Femina during the same week as International Women’s Day feels like much more than a blissful coincidence. Since then we have had it on a loop. The album, Latin for “always a woman,” which is also a tattoo Marling wears on her leg, yields an elegant confidence that does not disappoint.
Her preceding albums rise to a soaring intensity and maintain an endless endearment with the gentle nods to ’60s/’70s folk. The latest does not stray completely from this formula, however her sharp and witty tone seems to be the statement breaking through the flurried chords as she paints a picture of relationships, love, loss, and empowerment, woman-to-woman.
You always say you love me most/When I don’t know I’m being seen/Maybe someday when God takes me away/I’ll understand what the fuck that means/I just know your mama’s kinda sad/And your papa’s kinda mean/I can take it all away/You could stop playing that shit out on me
The record is a gentle and turbulent exploration of femininity, making us feel like we are silk but made of steel at the same time. Each lyric and melody creates a journey that shows femininity not as fickle or changeable but, rather, bewitchingly mysterious.
And we couldn’t agree more.
Check it out in full via Laura Marling’s Soundcloud or Spotify:
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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