Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know

Laura Marling - Wise-beyond-her-21-years Brit neo-folk thrush, two-time Mercury Prize nominee and critical darling returns with her highly anticipated third album, written and arranged on the heels of her last album I Speak Because I Can (2010)...Producer Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Ray LaMontagne), who produced Speak, is once again at the studio helm // Release: A Creature I Don't Know (September 13, Ribbon) // Sounds like: not surprisingly, given Johns' reprised participation, Creature is less about a redefinition of style or sound and more about pushing forward a new batch of fine songs in what promises to be a simpler stripped down production...lead single "Sophia" begins with deceptively hushed musings eventually blossoming into a full-blown dramatic crescendo (new video below)...

Quote: "Ethan works his magic on (the songs) once you get them into the studio with the band, but this album (is) more just me and him working on it as a smaller project." // What we like: "I Was Just A Card" is an immediate favorite, a lovely melody and Marling's surprisingly soulful and supple voice turning something stark and direct into a more profound musical statement...Marling's disarmingly sharp and intelligent lyrics have always been at the core of her songs, something we see (and hear) again in tracks like the near-blues intonations of "The Muse" or the strummy, classic U.K. folk turns in "Don't Ask Me Why"...

 

Laura Marling - "Sophia" (from A Creature I Don't Know)

Laura Marling - "Rest In the Bed" (Live In the Studio) (from A Creature I Don't Know)