I Speak Because I Can

Rating

Album: I Speak Because I Can
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Devil's Spoke	More Info...	0:03
2)	Made By Maid	More Info...	0:03
3)	Rambling Man	More Info...	0:03
4)	Blackberry Stone	More Info...	0:03
5)	Alpha Shallows	More Info...	0:03
6)	Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)	More Info...	0:03
7)	Hope in the Air	More Info...	0:04
8)	What He Wrote	More Info...	0:04
9)	Darkness Descends	More Info...	0:03
10)	I Speak Because I Can	More Info...	0:04

Performer Notes

Audio Mixer: Ethan Johns.
Recording information: Eastcote Studios, London; Real World Studios; Three Crows East, Wiltshire.
Illustrator: Sophie Milner.
Photographer: Deirdre O'Callaghan .
British folksinger Laura Marling's 2008 debut, Alas I Cannot Swim, showed more depth and maturity than one would expect from a (then) 18-year-old. Marling's expressive, smoky voice and penchant for lyrical matter that didn't reference clubbing landed her a well-earned Mercury Prize nomination, as well as a considerable amount of hype concerning her follow-up. Released in 2010, I Speak Because I Can delivers on nearly every level, upping both the production value (thanks to Ryan Adams and Kings of Leon producer Ethan Johns and fellow indie folk darlings Mumford & Sons) and the songwriting. Love, death, and heartbreak are hardly new subjects when it comes to folk music, but they refresh themselves so often in our lives that their relevance becomes tenfold with each new bite, scrape, or blow to the head, a notion that Marling explores with both guarded wisdom and elegant petulance on standout cuts like "Devil's Spoke," "Made by Maid," "Rambling Man," and "Goodbye England." At its heart, I Speak Because I Can is a stoic, bare-bones singer/songwriter record, which makes the tastefully peppered bursts of explosive percussion, banjo, mandolin, and backing vocals from the Mumford gentlemen all the more effective and not just window dressing to cover up a cookie-cutter storefront. That said, it's Marling's enigmatic voice (think Florence & the Machine and Fiona Apple), clever phrasing (think Joni Mitchell), and adherence to the alternately warm and wintry vibe of late-'60s/early-'70s classic rock and folk (think Led Zeppelin III) that listeners will keep coming back to, regardless of the packaging. ~ James Christopher Monger

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.74) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "At her best, she takes PJ Harvey and Nick Drake back to their primordial folk roots..."

Spin (pp.90-91) - "Her stormy folk songs are primal and dark, crammed with ancient mythology..."

Q (Magazine) (p.131) - "With the Mumfords as her backing band, it is bruised, reflective, accusatory and defiant."

Paste (magazine) (p.72) - "[A] gorgeous, melancholy, old-souled record....Malring avoids both precocity and self-seriousness..."

Pitchfork (Website) - "[L]ike Fairport Convention or Nick Cave or Cat Power, she uses folk as an archetypal form to get at the essential realities of love, sex, heartbreak, and death."

Clash (magazine) - "Her second album is an enchanting collection of beautifully raw songs....A more laid-back affair than her debut."

Uncut (magazine) - "She starts off promisingly on 'Devil's Spoke, ' sounding unusually fervent....Second track, 'Made By Maid' is equally fine..."

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