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“We’re quite a way into our tour now” whispers Laura Marling barely audibly as she stands at the dais of York Minster, “and don’t tell the others but I think this is the best one”. It is certainly difficult to think of a more fitting location for debuting Marling’s new material than in one of England’s biggest and most beautiful cathedrals. There is a hint of absurdity in seeing such an unassuming figure in the second largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe, and yet the effect is glorious. As soon as the 21 year old begins to sing, the ancient and majestic building is filled to the brim with her stunning vocals. Only very occasionally, in some of the louder songs, is her voice slightly overwhelmed by the magnitude of her surroundings.
In her lyrics as well, the setting is both appropriate and ironic. “I wrote my name in your book” she sings in the beautiful ‘Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)’, “Only God knows why. And I bet you that he cracked a smile”. It’s just a shame she left out some of her even more explicit religious references- “A preacher pushes me aside and asks to wash my sins I said ‘No. If He made me in His image then he’s a failure too’”. That said, The Beast, with brooding dark content accompanied by red lighting, seems almost satanic.
Location aside, those who have been to the singer’s previous tours will have noticed the distinct development in her voice. The singer’s enviable range allows her to recreate the incredible low pitch of her recorded material whilst also producing soaring descants. In fact, everything about her seems to be on the rise since her surprise ‘best female artist’ win at the Brits this year, not least her audience sizes. The cathedral is entirely full, and yet a hushed silence falls from the moment Marling takes to the stage broken only by applause and occasional laughter. When, for example, Marling stops suddenly and bursts into laughter ten seconds into ‘Flickering Light’ and announces “I sang ‘Took a duck to meet you’ instead of ‘Took a bus to meet you’!”, the sombre atmosphere momentarily lightens. A little like Joni Mitchell’s memorable laugh at the end of ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, Marling’s mix of self-deprecating humour and resonating music go together well.
It may seem a lazy and overused comparison, but it is impossible not to see aspects of Joni Mitchell in Marling. Not just in her music and performance, but also in where her career seems to be going; hovering on the verge of the recognition she deserves. It’s no surprise to learn that Marling grew up on a musical diet of the likes of Joni Mitchell from the age of 5, declaring of Mitchell that “The thing that most affected me was just her resonance, and that is something she must have been born with.” Right back at you, Laura.
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