The movement that got labelled ‘nu-folk’ has taken quite a battering recently from critics, commentators and some sectors of the blogosphere. Much of this can be attributed to Mumford & Sons – the band who we recently heard described as ‘The Waitrose Levellers’ – their mainstream and US success taking them on a journey far from where they started and on the way losing some of those who rode with them at the beginning. Babel was just too much of a stadium pleasing repetition of their debut for some to stomach. The movement also lost some of its early fans as musician bandwagon jumpers tried to emulate Mumford's success by ditching their electric guitars, putting on their waistcoats and grabbing an acoustic but forgetting that the reason Mumford & Sons had success in the first place was a collection of great songs - which imitators failed to produce.
Yet another one of the scenes key figures, Laura Marling has yet to receive such a backlash and as she returns with her new single Where Can I Go?, taken from forthcoming sixteen track album Once I Was An Eagle in May we suspect she may be able to sidestep any criticism. Why? Because this guitar and organ led tune sweeps along with a wistful and warm country tinged sound that is without doubt Marling but also doesn’t sound like the safe career building option that the M&S boys opted for.
Laura Marling - Where Can I Go?
No comments:
Post a Comment