LAURA MARLING
The SiS Interview by Eavvon O'Neal

Folk rock singing ladies often get grouped into one category to which lines are often are drawn to Joni Mitchell. It's hard to make your name established as an artist, and even harder as a female artist. Laura Marling has set out not to establish her name, but simply to cultivate her own sound, and let the accolades fall where they may. In doing so, she has provided honest lyrics with a beautiful presentation, in strides to become the new standard in aspiration.

The fledgling stages of stardom are a huge pain in the lower lumbar region. And every industry involves a brief stint of due paying, but that never makes it less straining on the dreams artists cultivate into careers, or attempt to reap into respectable legacies. Laura Marling, her smile ever optimistic and her gaze eerily contemplative for an 18 year old, could speak tomes about working the circuit, but won’t, at least not in person. Yet her music, if you care to lend an ear, will tell you all you need to know.

“[My lyrics], I think, developed from trying to find a way to explain myself to people,” says Laura, whose special and candid method is the lynch pin necessary for combining her coy attitude with a stage presence that has captivated European audiences. The most attractive part of her performance is her wordplay and the images they elicit. Titles such as “My Maniac,” “Night Terror” and “Alas, I Cannot Swim” (also the album’s title) are just the precipice of her vivid thoughts, and once you delve into her songs, you become bombarded by the confessions of a writer who claims she cannot really speak. “I am honest but I'm not very good at verbally expressing myself, so I found a niche of a way of explain myself.”

It’s sometimes inconvenient to be in such a situation, one where you’re better off writing in lieu of speaking. Yet still, Laura seems to be fairing rather well. While we sat in the Radisson lobby on 48th and Lexington (I, soaking wet, she soaking up the atmosphere of the city, albeit a dreary day in April to be visiting New York), Laura explained at length the impetus for her album’s title. “There’s a Philip Larkin poem I read, I can't remember the poem exactly,” she hesitated, “but I just remember reading it and how I thought it was a beautiful way of writing. Not necessarily the context of writing, but the structure of the sentences, kind of like with Old English. Well, not necessarily Old English, but early 1800’s where it doesn't matter what they are saying, but more a focus on how it’s a beautiful way of writing.”

I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen someone who enjoys language speak about words, but for those of you whom have to experience it, at this point, her eyes began to grow and a childlike smile crept across her face. “So the concept is there being some sort of desirable object on the other side of the river but you can’t swim to obtain it. There's just a beautiful irony in that.”

This sort of innocent fascination with clever wordplay helps to draw us to the Laura Marling experience. It’s all a genuine devotion to performing, and all powered by Marling herself. When it came time to release the album in the U.K., Laura opted for "The Song Box" package, which provided its purchaser with a ticket to see her perform live.

Sorry America, but we may have to wait some time before that lil’ stunt can be affording here in the States, but that doesn’t prohibit the girl from putting on a damn good show with a great set of performers, supporting artists like Noah and the Whale. Speaking about Noah, she has nurtured quite the relationship with them, which has given her more outlets with which to help flex her vocal muscles. “I've know them for years and years and when I first saw them perform I was just amazed. We went on our first tour together and they had me do some backing vocals with them. I was really honored to be apart of their project because I really respect them.”

This respect is really what Laura is after, and it’s something that we all want. The esteem to be able to work on different projects with one’s own digression, and while Laura may not be calling all of the shots just yet, she is quickly approaching the threshold. “I just want to keep doing this. I'm starting to get to the point that I have the ability to say ‘no’ to projects that I don't want to do so, I want to keep just getting involved with things that I’m interested in and moving forward with all that I can.”

It’s still hard to say if Laura will bulldoze America like she has taken on the EU, since Americans are hesitant to buy into the “English Folk Invasion” as Laura called it, laughing sarcastically. However by capitalizing on the ever-expanding imagination of music fans, she is most certainly taking the right steps to locking down a prize piece of musical history.