Thoughts on Laura Marling

I recently read an interesting article written by Helen Davies, in which she gave a detailed account of how women in the music industry are - and have been - treated by the press. The piece was titled ‘Rock n Roll is Homosocial: The representation of women in the British rock music press’. In it H. Davies touched on how female artists are – and have been - treated unfairly in mainstream pop culture and how their talents are widely discredited and overlooked in favour of their appearance, amongst other things. It is no doubt that a lot of this is true. Female performers in the music industry have been treated with a distinct lack of equality since ‘pop’ music was formed (the term invented by a male, no doubt), with men writing songs for men, and the target audience for many mainstream magazines, bands and songwriters being males aged 16 – 24.
It is with all of this in mind that I believe Laura Marling stands out. Firstly - as a blood-sucking male journalist - I intend to look at her appearance in the stereotypical way: She has short, blonde, undistinguished hair. She wears little or indeed no makeup and wears – dare I say it – rather scruffy clothes that are too big for her. Point one made. It is impossible to say Laura Marling is trying to sell records by using her looks.
This leads me nicely onto my second point; Marling’s song writing style is always very true-to-roots, giving it an illustrious air of authenticity, something which many of today’s female so-called singer-songwriters are lacking, or faking (Kate Nash, for example). Her songs have a slight hint of traditional Irish music, along with an exuberant amount of influences from 60’s English folk culture. True, she is no Bert Jansch on guitar, but she doesn’t try to be. Again, it is in this aspect that Marling stands out from the crowd; she is not trying to be anything but herself. Her songs are catchy, yet not over flamboyant. She rarely plays to huge crowds, preferring to play low-key intimate gigs. She comes across shy, and rarely looks comfortable playing her guitar. Let me tell you one thing however, she sure can play and sing those songs of hers. It is the combination of all these ingredients that makes her appealing to so many. For Marling, less is definitely more.
A recent near-miss with the Mercury prize may be a blessing in disguise for Laura. It is too hard to see her being a star on an international scale. She is not ‘mainstream’ enough, and she absolutely will not sell out on her writing style in order to sell more download units. The success of her debut album, ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’ coupled with various tour dates at major UK festivals has made 2008 a successful year for her. In a world where female artists are constantly scrutinised for seeking attention or being over-dramatic in a very illustrative sense, Laura Marling may have found just the right mix of authenticity, good songs, shyness and of course, talent. Let us not forget that Laura Marling is only nineteen years old, yet for me, she is setting the standard for all female singer songwriters out there. Ladies, follow her lead.

Ian Easton

03.10.2008.

Kings of Leon – Only by the Night, a review by Ian Easton

29.09.2008

Studio trickery is always a no-go area for any true-to-roots rock band. Kings of Leon didn’t quite hit the nail on the head with their last album, Because of the Times, but luckily for them by this time the masses had already hopped aboard the Hillbilly Rock bandwagon. Yet, the new five-syllabled album Only by the Night may be quite the grower, even to the most hardcore of fans, they just don’t know it yet. Granted, it doesn’t have the abundance of monolithic tracks smothered with growling vocals about Southern Americana, and their drummer doesn’t look like a bespectacled Jesus anymore, but it’s certainly got something – the trademark KOL swagger.
What this record does have in stacks is a reservoir of landscape rock, embellished with layered and wailing primal guitar riffs. Caleb Followill’s vocals are clearer, more directed than in previous efforts. This might be due to the fact that he wrote most of the words whilst under the influence of incapacitating pain killers, or it may simply be because he is now more confident in his delivery. Maybe it’s a nice medley of the two. One thing is for sure, he may just be one of the most vital frontmen of a generation.
I first heard Crawl at Glastonbury 2008, whilst trudging through a mammoth crowd trying to find my mates. ‘Here’s a new one’ Caleb said before Brother Jared flew into the first few hugely fuzzed baseline notes. I didn’t like it. I have no idea why but it has grown on me since that mud-caked lost evening. It must prove to be somewhat taxing playing new tracks to big crowds, and a lot of bands fall by the wayside attempting to win over a wider range of fans. The first single Sex on Fire might well be a carbon copy of California Waiting from Youth and Young Manhood, but it is satisfying in a more rounded way. Somehow they have kept their trademark sound whilst not quite selling out and chasing the Yankee Dollar. Applause.
The album starts off with a bang, with the two stand-out numbers named above, followed by the epic sure-to-be-a-flagwaver Use Somebody. The vocals are layered, and the lyrics paint a selfish picture of wanting and absence. The chorus has minimal vocals, which work well with just the backing vocals wailing into the night. A great one to drive at night to as well, I would imagine.
A lot of the tracks have hints of the masterpiece that is Fans from the last record, which appears to have been a benchmark for the sound of the bulk of this album. Jared’s near-perfect baselines are key to the epic image of these songs (Manhattan, Revelry, the beautiful Notion, Cold Desert). If only KOL’s fans didn’t all listen to the songs on poor iPOD headphones, they would be able to appreciate this more.
Vintage equipment has been used again throughout the whole recording process, which is pleasing to hear, as it has been their way of doing things since the outset. The KOL group are very close nit, their cousin and guitar tech Nacho could be mistaken for a fully-fledged member of the group itself. For a deeper insight into the recording process and build up to the records release, see their Only By The Night Home Movies page on YouTube. Very funny indeed. It’s hard to imagine that Caleb recorded a lot of his vocal tracks whilst drunk.
KOL may have had time to sit back, reflect on shared STDs, arguments over women and the many, many problems that newfound stardom brings, but that hasn’t stopped them living a cultured Rock n Roll lifestyle within their family group. They are still TrailerPark Trash at heart. That must be libellous.
Only by the night is a much more melodic, mature, cleaner-in-it’s-delivery, epic sounding record than any Kings of Leon have written before. It’s certainly grown on me, and it may take time to win over their hardcore fans with these songs, but if it appeals to the masses, they might no longer care? Album sales speak for themselves at this stage in their career. Stadium Tour, anyone?

Ian Easton

The Glastonbury Diaries - Saturday 28th June

Humans, humans, humans! I just carved my way through what must be a 70,000 strong crowd to the back of the Main Stage field in order to write refuge from the sun in the shadow of the tree here. I look before me and see a sea of people. Human bodies crammed into this field in the name of music, the heartbeat of our lives. Flags fly and sunglasses reflect both the sunlight and the scenes that lay before them. As i sit in this amphitheatre for the worldly i wonder about the thousands of people joining me. All of them having their own journey, sharing their own jokes and fashioning their own views on the event as the weekend progresses. It is a long haul that requires patience, calmness and most of all, a sense of humour. We all have to work on it, but if we collectively put the effort in, the rewards are obvious. Now for the Raconteurs.

The Glastonbury Diaries - Saturday 28th June

Dont save me from tomorrow; tears poured out of all holes from Peter Doherty last night. I'm not sure if any wild-eyed festival-goers will be treated to a more sincere and heartfelt show all weekend. It certainly was iconic for me. The surprisingly tall and elegant Doherty was in fine form. Who ever said crime doesn't pay? It certainly did for us lucky enough to witness such a flawless spectacle. A dish of greatest hits was served up fresh as can be, by the prancing, dreaming Doherty. The natural arena-rise of the Park Stage field offered a perfect view for all who were watching, singing, and videoing the show (espeically for YouTube, of course). As a big fan of Peter Doherty, i basked in the glory of seeing one of modern music's most romantic, poignant, epic and natural songwriters up close and personal in such an intimate scenario. I can't help but feel that Peter is now taking his solo performances very seriously. Perhaps a solo album is on the cards, and based on this gift from him, it will be a big hit.

The Glastonbury Diaries - Thursday - 26th June

A lazy day, all in all. However, with so much going on in our surroundings it is hard not to get sucked into the mystic madness of this celebration.
A bright idea is pitched: We should walk to the new field opened for the '08 festival, next to the Stone Circle field. Eavis has claimed that this vantage point offers special views over the site. I am hasten to add that the word 'special' might be an embarrassing understatement. This is mainly because only one kind of view would be worth the extreme exersion needed to reach this point. It wasn't easy in skinny jeans under a burning sun, but the view made up for it. It is quite simply a jaw-dropping sight. Flags and Tee-Pees embellish the field below. This panoramic view of the entire festival is a gift from the gods. No camera or painting could replicate this, you simple have to see it to believe it. I feel so touched to be here witnessing all this. Sun, friends and views. Bliss. We are disciples on this hill, worshipping the homeland.

The Glastonbury Diaries - Wednesday Day - 25th June

Upon arrival we are blown away by the sheer selflessness of a group of chaps who are willing to aid our hardship of carrying rucksacks and other general paraphernalia by accepting donations to carry it all to our tents (which were already erected, i might add) on a train-like contraption. We felt like A-List celebrities during this process as everyone watched us being chauffer driven. Pure collective elation erupts every 10-15 minutes with the 'Mexican Roar', which windmills its way around each camp site. Glad to be here at sundown.

The Glastonbury Diaries - The Night Before, 24th June, 2008

I have visions of thousands of Halo-Illuminated heads all channelling, focusing and hording in one direction. People, friends and families from all walks of life, all corners of the earth brought together in Albion-like harmony for one single purpose; Walking, dancing, experiencing. One universal journey. Can we beat the rain?

And so it begins.