Laura Marling’s “I Speak Because I Can” at the Academy

By Stefanie Schwerdtfeger

To present her second album I Speak Because I Can, hope of nu-folk Laura Marling came to play the sold out Academy. The former member of indie-folk band Noah and the Whale brought her friends Boy & Bear from Australia and fellow folk singer Alessi’s Ark to support her.

She starts her set with Devil’s Spoke, the first single of the new album, and enchants the audience from the first chord on. Though her presence may seem inconspicuous, Laura’s voice gains her the audience’s full attention. The mainly female crowd is mostly silent and listening; only a few dare to sing along with Failure or My Manic And I. She mainly plays the new record’s songs mixed with the best of her old songs from her Mercury Prize nominated debut Alas, I Cannot Swim, as well as two new untitled songs. Due to the lack of a fiddle player on this tour Laura whistles the fiddle solo of Night Terror, thus earning the audience’s biggest applause and providing the most striking moment of the night.

The audience visibly enjoyed this charming night of folk music by the amazingly talented Laura, who was recently featured on the cover of NME with an interview about the current state of music.

At the end of the show, Laura mentions her dislike of encores because they destroy the completeness of a set and finishes with her new album’s title song I Speak Because I Can. It is hard to believe that this girl is only 20 years old, as she is so creative and productive enough to release another record later this year, with another tour hopefully following.