the griff

A Creature I Don’t Know 

Laura Marling

Ribbon Music

Once identified as a part of the “new folk scene” that included Mumford & Sons and Said the Whale, British lass Laura Marling’s third album A Creature I Don’t Know is expressive, dusky and lyrically mature for a 21-year-old. It teeters on darkness and a tinge of angst. This album is laden with metaphors and symbolic language that may just be what Marling is about, as the title of her album suggests. 

Marling has a commanding presence in her opening track “Muse,” in which she introduces the beast, “I’m nothing but a beast/ And I call you when I need to feast.” She enunciates her words in a jazz/folk-like musical arrangement. Instead of singing the last line of each stanza, she simply states it.  Her fourth track, “Salinas,” depicts a vivid portrait of her mother and her hometown, which doubles up as a eulogy to her mother. “The Beast” makes a comeback with lyrics “You know I’ve been running round for hours/ Calling my Gyptian blood to bear me flowers/ Calling Sophia, goddess of power,” gurgling at the brook before spewing a thunderous flow angry electric guitar riffs. “Night after Night” is a gentler, quieter song, sung as if from the top of an English coast, beseeching her lover not to forsake her. With ethereal backup vocals and a banjo, “Rest in Bed” is a story of a woman asking her man not to let her “grow dark or cold.” Marling, who detests to be branded as a ‘nu-folk’ artist, gives a brilliant performance in this album. She is decisive and knows where she’s headed. The album’s worth a spin if you don’t mind obscure mythical references and serious folk music.

-Tisha Raj