The Daily Growl

This year hasn’t been a great one so far for my January tips. So far albums by Kate Nash and Jack Penate have been big disappointments, Ali Love has gone all Calvin Harris, and albums by Fields and The Rumble Strips have slipped past without quickening many pulses. There are still hopes out there, but despite being the best of the lot, Emmy the Great is still unsigned. Oh well.

Which brings me to Laura Marling. Back at the start of the year when I first featured her, she was promising. Her London Town EP was certainly agreeable to the ear, but it seems that she’s really arrived now with her new EP My Manic and I, and the fact that it’s on Virgin Records will surely get her more and bigger exposure. But it’s no more than she deserves. It’s an excellent collection of songs, and a welcome antidote to the shockingly poor output of new artists on major labels lately.

She still reminds me of a younger Beth Orton though (is it the voice, or the acoustic stylings?) but I think that’s a good thing. Lead track New Romantic is easily the best thing she’s done. It’s a simple, effortlessly beautiful song. There’s just something about it – the way that Marling’s vocals slide over the lovely tune – that makes it stand out from so much else of this kind of thing at the moment. The other three tracks are pretty tasty too. In fact, given that a few people have already been posting New Romantic, I’m going with track 2 – Night Terror. Enjoy!

Download: Laura Marling – Night Terror

Buy the My Manic and I EP here. Laura’s out and about touring around the UK and Europe just now, including some Devendra Banhart supports. All the dates on her myspace.

Photo from binghamsally’s Flickr photostream.