Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
There are artists who acquire talent through practice and dedication, and those who are a natural talent. Laura Marling is both. Since her debut in 2008, which was released when she was only 18 years old, Marling has consistently grown and flourished as a songwriter and artist. With each album, Marling explored more and more themes related to where she was in life. Going from love songs, to an entire album dedicated to her daughter in 2023. Her latest record, Patterns, which was released this October, is Marling at her truest and maturest form. The record explores themes of being a parent and seeing her daughter grow. The strings on the record perfectly pair with Marling’s signature acoustic guitar. Marling’s vocal quality softly cascades across the instrumentals, making for a perfect harmony of sounds on the record.
It’s impressive and well deserved that 16 years after her debut, Marling would play to a sold-out crowd at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom. Upon arrival, the room was buzzing with chatter about the new record, old records, new fans and old. As soon as Marling set foot on stage the room went silent. All eyes were on the stage. Marling with guitar in hand opening with a blend of 3 songs, “Take The Night Off/I Was An Eagle/You Know”, off of her 2nd album. After, she played a beautiful rendition of “Taps At My Window” off of her debut record. The blend of these first 4 songs captivated the audience who’ve been following Marling since 2008. After a few more songs played solely on acoustic guitar, Marling invited out a string quintet to accompany for the second half of the show. As soon as the strings were introduced, I had goosebumps and chills down my spine. The whole sonic experience was one for the books, intimate, soft, and comforting. Marling is playing 2 more nights at Bowery Ballroom, you can get tickets here.
Sarah Knoll / @slick_filmphoto
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