Song For Our Daughter is the seventh album by Laura Marling. I had been meaning to listen to her for years because she is always being nominated for prizes and being voted top female singer at the Brit awards and receiving great critical acclaim. I had been prejudiced against her because she is the daughter of a baronet and had a genteel upbring in Berkshire which did not appeal to my socialist sensibilities. That is very unfair though, people should have a chance in life whatever their background! It was not her fault. Anyway, finally I have bought a Laura Marling album. I suppose the first thing to say is that Laura has not actually got a daughter, she is fictitious. Wikipedia told me that the title song was inspired by a book by Maya Angelou called Letter To My Daughter.
The album has a very stripped back sound with just guitar and percussion which gives it a very intimate feel. On some tracks there are some exquisite string arrangements by Robert Moose. The opening song is the strange and haunting Alexandra. Apparently, this is based on a Leonard Cohen song called Alexandra Leaving. You wonder who Alexandra was, maybe a previous lover of her partner. ‘Where did Alexandra go? Is the mysterious refrain. Laura’s pure vocals are quite sublime. Held Down is one of my favourite tracks. It is so good that I have played it over and over. It is the shimmering layered harmonies of Laura’s own voice that make it so great, where the last word of every verse is repeated several times. It reminds me very much of Parallelograms by Linda Perhacs, another album I like. Strange Girl is an upbeat song with lots of percussion. I am not sure what it is about, but seems quite sneering of pretentious people, ‘Oh girl, don’t bullshit me’ is one line. The gentle guitar sound of Only The Strong Survive reminds me slightly of Simon & Garfunkel. Blow By Blow is a very sad song which has a beautiful string accompaniment. The title track Song For Our Daughter is next. You can see the subtle influence of an older generation of musicians like McCartney, Cohen, Dylan and especially Joni Mitchell all over this album. I think her parents record collection must have had a big influence on Laura.
Fortune is another of the great songs. It is an incredibly sad song which mentions her mothers running away fund which she never had the courage to use. Laura’s vocal performance is fabulous. The End Of The Affair is the name of a novel by Grahame Greene and the title of the next song. Laura is obviously a well-read lady. She mentions books in several songs. There is a character called ‘Max’ in this song. I wonder who he is based on? The penultimate song is Hope We Meet Again which for me has very enigmatic lyrics. I must confess that I don't understand the lyrics in a lot of the songs. You won't find songs about the big issues of the day. These are very introspective songs. I have read that Laura has been studying psychoanalysis. Healing inner trauma seems to be her interest. The album ends with the simple and charming For You which has Laura’s boyfriend humming along in harmony. It features some nice electric guitar and brings this album to a pleasant and positive end. This is a wonderful album. You will be rewarded by playing it several times. It grows on you. I should have mentioned that the acoustic guitar playing is excellent and Laura’s voice is the best I have heard in a long time. Congratulations to Laura Marling on this great album. I have shared Held Down from YouTube to this blogsite if you want to hear it.
