Laura Marling tour review: a breathless homecoming at Queen Elizabeth Hall

Marling was an astonishing performer, says Andre Paine, who held the audience entranced by her outpouring of intricate, often enigmatic, folk
Cool and self-contained: Laura Marling (Picture: Gus Stewart/Redferns via Getty Images)
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Andre Paine22 April 2015

At the ripe old age of 25, Laura Marling has released five albums and endured a quarter-life crisis, which involved moving to Los Angeles, exploring her psyche in the desert and mistakenly joining a cult for an afternoon.

The folk singer’s two years across the Atlantic appear to have revitalised her, though fans on Facebook have poked fun at the Californian drawl on a couple of songs.

On the few occasions she spoke at the first of four nights on the South Bank, she still sounded like the serious young woman who happens to be the daughter of the fifth baronet of Stanley Park and Sedbury Park, Gloucestershire.

For anyone bothered by her poshness, Marling’s preternatural talent and poise were the perfect riposte during a breathless opening 25 minutes, including a suite of songs that had the audience entranced by her outpouring of intricate, often enigmatic, folk.

“Welcome to the very, very comfortable Queen Elizabeth Hall,” said Marling of this cocoon of a concert hall, the perfect space to appreciate her rich songwriting.

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While the seats were soft, the tunes were often sharp as new album Short Movie brings electric guitar to her repertoire. She transformed I Feel Your Love into a rumbling rocker that sounded like a band of grizzled geezers, rather than a 25-year-old with a pixie haircut and three young men on drums, double-bass and guitar.

Marling sang in front of a panorama of what was presumably Joshua Tree National Park, which partly inspired the new record. Across the continent, False Hope captured the panic of Hurricane Sandy and the New York song’s stormy folk-rock resembled PJ Harvey.

Marling was an astonishing performer, though sometimes so cool and self-contained she seemed almost oblivious of her admiring audience.

But it was a nice touch to strum the acoustic Goodbye England (Covered in Snow), a love letter to the winter landscape she left behind in 2012 for her sojourn in California. It’s good to have her back home.

April 28 to 30 (0844 875 0073, southbankcentre.co.uk)

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