Music Review

22 November 2008 07:01 BST

Laura Marling thrills London's Union Chapel

The first of two gigs at Islington's Union Chapel helped confirm the promise of debutant songstress Laura Marling. An intimate and unforgiving venue is a brave choice for an emerging artist, but the newly coronated teenage queen of UK folk is already showing plenty of belief in her own abilities.

The picturesque round chapel was packed out, requiring a second date to be added as an afterthought. Spectators are seated on church pews, while the chapel has no standing area and a no alcohol policy, making gigs at the venue more akin to a classical concert.

Playing to a welcoming and patient crowd, Marling responded by giving a relaxed and modest performance, allowing a few mistakes to creep in and even restarting a song after a botched opening. But rather than appearing unprofessional, the casual approach made her seem likeably human, and helped to confirm the feeling that her songs are a warm and sincere journey through beautifully unifying highs and fearfully lonely lows.

The gig drew a crowd from all across the age spectrum – many of whom had bought her album and concert ticket box set. As if playing to friends, the young star was able to experiment with string arrangements, drum accompaniments and her own vocal style, adding new dimensions to her studio sound.

Debut album Alas I Cannot Swim features crisp, clear and agile vocals, flawlessly set against the warm and full accompaniment of acoustic guitar and strings. Playing live – and particularly to such unforgiving acoustics – the overall sound was more threadbare. Marling's voice lacked studio crispness, and ocassionally missed the high notes, but one listener's loss was another's gain. Doing away with precision, the resonant climaxes were richer and more echoey than on record, while line endings were often surrendered into charming Dylanesque vocal descents.

Not satisfied with the critical acclaim that Alas I Cannot Swim has garnered, Marling is using her tour as a time for experimentation, and crowded out the Union Chapel stage with a string quartet and additional solo fiddler. As her vocals warmed up, the strings were brought into increasing prominence, providing a strong counterpoint to the melody in Tap On My Window and Cross Your Fingers.

The experiment was not wholly successful: Cross Your Fingers hits one of the album's high points with its gallivanting energy and uplifting Snow Patrol-style anthemic chorus. But the live version was slower and lacked a bass continuum to drive it forward, leaving the complex string and vocal melodies isolated.

But later songs - especially the brooding My Manic and Me and icy Night Terror - managed to combine spontaneous energy and musical balance. These were met with rapturous applause from an appreciative audience, and the goodwill was returned with an energetic burst of songs in the second encore. The first was annexed onto the rest of the performance, after the singer's self-deprecating admission that the band have started including encores automatically to avoid the disappointment of not being invited back on.

Her modest live persona proved throughout that Laura Marling is all about the music. Despite her vocals being key to the success of Alas I Cannot Swim, she refused to return to the stage at the end without her trusty band. The duress of a first extended tour looked to have taken its toll, but she was still genuinely appreciative of her audience, striving to hit vocal perfection and refusing to pretend to be any more energetic or idiosyncratic than she is. Modestly dressed and softly spoken, she let the music do the talking. On the back of her efforts to make each song better than the last, anecdotal glimpses of her personality were all the more likeable.

Nick Jacobs

To read the inthenews.co.uk review of Laura Marling's Alas I Cannot Swim, click here

And check out the best of Laura Marling below

Ghosts



My Manic and I


New Romantic