8.6/10
Favorite Track: "Song for our Daughter" Least Favorite: "Fortune"
If there is one thing Folk Singer-Songwriter Laura Marling proves in her 2020 release, Song for Our Daughter, it is that she knows how to turn a minimalistic soundscape into a strikingly gorgeous work of art. Each time I have listened to Song for Our Daughter in preparation to review it, one thing stood out to me; her exquisite utilization of an instrumentally limited soundscape. As a genre, folk is heavily characterized by a less-is-more attitude, but something about Laura’s approach to this songwriting structure leaves almost nothing to be desired. Lightly strummed acoustic guitars, subtle yet impactful bass, and vocal harmonies that fill out the mixes in an enticing way culminate perfectly into a tight, thirty-six minute runtime that leaves me feeling every emotion under the sun.
The lyrics are quite heavy hitting on this record, running a gamut of love, loss, violence, sadness, grief, and Laura’s innate worry that her fictional daughter will be chewed up and spit out by the world she so vividly paints as being cruel and unforgiving. The title track explores this idea in a convincing and relatable way, telling her significant other that she has been “thinking about our daughter growing old/all of the bullshit she might be told”. Laura explores a plethora of thoughts of anxiety over her daughter’s quality of life in a way that is really moving, with her elegant and mature songwriting selling the sentiment of the track with ease.
On a slightly happier note , “Strange Girl” is a huge highlight for me. Quite possibly the most upbeat track on the album, the instrumental side is dominated by a very vibrant and catchy guitar riff and a very precise drum groove heavily inspired by the traditional train beat. The guitar playing on this cut is very expressive as well, with random spurts of acoustic guitar changing in volume and attack at a moment’s notice. Laura’s voice on the song is very cheeky, as if she was holding back a joyous laugh so as not to mess up her performance on the track. It’s quick-witted, addictive, and filled to the brim with character and spunk.
The rest of the album is dominated by slightly dreary, crushingly realistic acoustic ballads like “Only The Strong” and “Blow by Blow”. While I thoroughly admire the more upbeat Laura on “Strange Girl”, songs where she is more down to earth, a little sad, and chalk-full of things to say is where she shines the most. Both of the songs mentioned before are quite focused on the idea of the world being a hateful place that exists to beat you down, and whether or not I personally agree with these statements I walk away from them being entirely compelled by every word Laura says. She sings with such conviction, such understated power on these tracks that it is hard to walk away from any of these songs without a powerful message ingrained into your mind.
“For You” and “Fortune” both strike a chord with the theme of the other songs here, but I don’t find them to be as sonically or lyrically compelling as some of my favorite tracks on the record. “For You” has a nice sentiment, essentially a love letter to an unborn daughter, but the droning male hums overpower the mix and make the song feel relentlessly tedious despite its lovable lyrics and Laura’s decent vocal performance. “Fortune” has an enjoyable sound to it, but the business of the guitar juxtaposed with Laura’s simple and elegant vocal performance really doesn’t work all that well.
If I had to pick an album from this year that is written the best at its core, no frills or extra nonsense to it, it would be Song for Our Daughter. While this album has not accomplished nearly as much as some of my favorite records of the year, it truly amazes me how Laura manages to take pure empty space and turn it into an asset, filling the silence with light, airy melodies and cocophanies of vocal harmonies that make me feel as though I’m floating on a bed of clouds. Above all else, there is something so compelling in Song for Our Daughter’s simplicity. Instead of feeling like an album concocted in a studio with a multitude of producers and extra musicians, the motherly nature of the album makes it feel as though Laura is taking you under her wing personally and showing you the ropes of the world you both call home.
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