Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

It's a relief then that having finally had an opportunity to review one of her singles for ChartBlog, it's a song that I really like. This song skirts both sides of serious and playful - the lyrics are quite intense, but there's something quite whimsical about the melody, with its sparing use of a glockenspiel and the waterwheel-like sense of cascading motion at the end of the chorus which, weirdly, I think lends the song a bit more gravitas by taking the puff out of its own sails, slightly.

To my mind, one of the worst things a songwriter can do is have a misplaced sense of their own importance and I think Laura Marling sidesteps that potential pitfall here pretty expertly - she's obviously more concerned in making good music than Important Music, and I'm hugely appreciative of that.

I love the sound of her voice on this track - it's crisp, clear and dry, and reminds me a little bit of Nerina Pallot, whom I also think is fantastic. The song itself is short, and I don't have a problem with that, because I've always been a firm believer that a story is only ever as long as it needs to be and there's no sense in staying around when you've said all you need to say, but from a purely selfish perspective I could've listened to more of it quite happily.

I guess that while you should never judge a book by its cover, there's a lot to be said for judging an artist by an interview.

Download: Out now
CD Released: June 9th

(Steve Perkins)