The time for summer music has come to an end. Gone are the days of the radio playing only dance tracks with catchy back-beats; fall is a time for more thoughtful songs. Quiet tunes with warm music and hopeful or poetic messages begin to take over the airwaves. We’ve already seen this happening, with songs like “Royals,” “Let Her Go,” and “Everything Has Changed” dominating radio play. The newest Unsung Artist, Laura Marling, has four albums worth of well-crafted, pensive songs under her belt, perfect for the chilly fall weather.
Hitting the scene in 2007, a year before her debut album dropped, Marling was just 17 years old when she began to build a strong and steady fan base. Her debut album, Alas I Cannot Swim, not only gained her hoards of British followers, but a nomination for a Mercury Prize. Marling is an enchantress. Her voice has the perfect inflection and husky tone. She’s quiet and inquisitive. She’s sure and graceful, and has had such a presence since her debut; hooking fans with her rawness and sincerity.
Marling has released three albums since her debut: I Speak Because I Can, A Creature I Don’t Know, and Once I Was an Eagle. All critically acclaimed, Marling writes and sings with a sophistication rarely found in today’s young talent. She uses no gimmicks to attract fans; her stage show usually incorporates a mic-stand, Marling at the center, acoustic guitar strapped to her back, and a light shining down on her as she coos her calm lullabies and fast-paced “folk songs,” in her all-together hypnotic, soft and sure tone.
This formula must be working for fans across the pond, Marling won “Best British Female” at the Brit awards and in 2011 and was nominated for the same prize in 2012. Hopefully, Marling’s personal move from Great Britain to Los Angeles will allow her the same recognition in America.
Marling, now 23, is working on her fifth studio album. In true fashion, she’s already unveiled some of the songs she’s tracking for the next album in her live performances. “David,” the first song featured in the video above, has already undergone musical changes. Going from a slower ballad to a more uppity tune, with fast and prominent guitar plucking to match the bittersweet lyrics, “David” has already become a fan favorite, without even being available for purchase.
No matter what Marling is working on, her songs remain artful and unique, and she’s always penning more. If thoughtful, raw, and perfectly crafted and plucked songs are what you are looking for this fall, as you cuddle in a cozy sweater and chill in the perfect weather, look no further than the sophisticated songstress, Laura Marling.
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