From underground folkie to someone capable of stuffing a 600-capacity venue to the gills in less than two years? You wouldn’t expect it of Laura Marling – but then again, the charm of the young Hampshire native can’t be underestimated. Of course, having an astounding second album freshly released helps. I Speak Because I Can, having reaped a mass of critical adulation with 4 and 5 star reviews, is the real reason there’s a capacity crowd at The Academy tonight.
Just like the album, it’s ‘Devil’s Spoke’ that provides an incendiary opener as the newly-brunette Marling takes the stage with her four-piece band. Even if she’d arrived in Dublin alone and with a 4-string toy guitar, this would have been a special gig: it’s her eerie songs coupled with that pitch-perfect voice that makes Marling so impressive. However, her fellow musicians add depth and warmth to the setlist, which spans both albums and even includes a couple of new tunes and a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Needle And The Damage Done’, dedicated to her parents, who watch proudly from the balcony.
It’s a spellbinding gig; so reverential in parts that the jingle of the bar’s cash register and the static crackle of security’s walkie-talkies provoke annoyed tuts and exaggerated frowns from captivated patrons. Above all else, there’s a sense that we’re bearing witness to something quite special at what is still a very early point in her career. Make no mistake – Laura Marling is here to stay.