For her fifth album both axes are sharpened, the occasional expletive reached for when other words fail and the guitar similarly electrified on a host of tracks.
But however bitter, disappointed or exasperated Marling might feel, the emotion is never overwrought.
Rather, as someone who has seen the best and worst in those she has observed, Marling simply tells it like it is in language we can understand, backing it up with her most forthright musical statement to date.
• Laura Marling. Short Movie. Universal Music.
• Five stars (out of five)
Single download: False Hope
For those who like: Sharon van Etten, PJ Harvey, Chrissie Hynde
- Jeff Harford
