Over the next two weeks, the Song of the Day spotlights SXSW 2015 artists. Check back everyday for a free download and show information.
Laura Marling’s exceptional 2013 album, Once I Was An Eagle, felt like a breath of fresh air for the young singer-songwriter. Her first three albums were met with rapturous praise both here in the States and in her native England. But all the “next Joni Mitchell” comparisons were swept away with Eagle. Here was an artist who sounded so assured of herself that comparisons to others seem moot at this point.
Short Movie–out March 24–tries to reckon with the enormous stakes put on the 25-year-old’s shoulders. Marling scrapped the first version she recorded, eschewing the help of Ethan Johns (who produced Eagle) in favor of producing Short Movie herself. The result is something that’s stark and frayed around the edges. “I Feel Your Love” features familiar Marling tropes: her exceptional guitar-playing, sighing strings, that gritty-yet-beautiful voice. “Keep your love around me,” she sings, but it’s less an ode than a plea for sanity in a turbulent world. Download “I Feel Your Love” below and catch Laura Marling at SXSW 2015.
–Art Levy
Wednesday, March 18: Austin Convention Center, 3 p.m. (official showcase)
Thursday, March 19: Mohawk outdoors, 1 a.m. (official showcase)
Friday, March 20: St. David’s Historic Sanctuary, 8:45 p.m. (official showcase)
