Laura Marling

‘Alas I Cannot Swim’

(Virgin)

There are too many clichés that could tumble off the lip when trying to describe this album, none of them doing Laura Marling any justice. Take any comparisons to Kate Nash, the constant references to her tender teenage age, and the ‘New Folk Revolution’ bracket she’s been shoved into and bin ‘em. With hints of Bonnie Prince Billy and PJ Harvey, Marling possesses a voice beyond her years and her debut is made up of spell-binding lullabies. ‘Night Terror’ and ‘My Manic and I’ are stark, trembling insights into the tribulations of love, gothic tales of haunted minds and possessed dreams. Following in the same vein as recent single ‘New Romantic’, ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’ is an album of modern folktales; wistful, sincere and utterly beguiling.

Harriet Gibsone