Laura Marling at The Scala, London on 12 November London's Scala was a suitably intimate venue for Laura Marling and band to try out some new material and draw the curtain on what has been a particularly successful year for the young singer. Her debut album 'Alas I Cannot Swim' has had critical acclaim from all corners and her blend of folky pop has a large following in these electro-dominated times. A lot of the material on show here was so brand new it was little more than a sketch, as she sat alone on the stage with an acoustic guitar or banjo to deliver heartfelt musings with little more than an outline of backing. However, when the full band was present on tracks like 'My Maniac And I', we saw the other side, a joyous accordion led stomp through some really catchy tunes all underpinned by that voice. It's hard to believe how young Marling is when you hear her sing; she doesn't have the affected cockney mannerisms of your Nash / Allen types and isn't of the same bombastic school as Duffy or Adele, she just has a beautiful, yearning sound that gives these songs a quality hard to match at the moment. She seems like a lovely girl as well, self-deprecating banter and a shyness that is endearing when backed up with her talent. Ian M. Review originally published by CMU Music Network www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk Next