Short Movie is her way of making up for that lost time and continuing to push toward greater personal and musical progress.
It’s less musically intense than its predecessor – as well as the usual neo-Brit folk rock, there’s spindly and angular rock and even, on Gurdjieff’s Daughter, an unmistakable debt to Sultans of Swing.
It’s natural that a musician will want to explore new ideas and influences as their career matures, and Short Movie finds Marling doing just that.
It's more defiant and distinct than anything she’s done before, testament to her first go at self-production. But what really sets it apart from her catalogue is her desire to break the cycle, to let go and let herself be young.
Short Movie plays very much like an album of seeking rather than settling down, of picking away curiously at life choices rather than committing to one.
What Short Movie does do is remind us of the poise with which Marling carries her prodigious ability as a songwriter, and reaffirm that she’s genuinely ambitious, too; she sounds excited again, and so should we be.
Marling has a talent for instilling in her work an awareness of what listeners are thinking, and this self-awareness goes hand-in-hand with one of the album’s most compelling features: the urge to push the boundaries of artistic mediums.
Short Movie lacks the seamless thematic and tonal cohesion of Once I Was An Eagle, but it offers more immediate pleasures.
She’s at odds with the part of herself that likes the feeling of being comfortable, of finding her voice, and that tension drives Short Movie to places she hasn’t explored before.
Without an overarching conceit like Once I Was an Eagle, Short Movie comes off sounding like a transition record, a short movie in the sense that it’s a prelude to something bigger.
It's a flash of lyrical left hooks on a set where the British singer-songwriter goes all Judas, like Dylan before her, recording with electric guitar and broadening her palette without sacrificing her subtly badass folkie persona.
8/10
exceptional
Fav tracks: Warrior, False Hope, I Feel Your Love, Strange, Don't Let Me Bring You Down, Easy, Gurdjieff's Daughter, Divine, How Can I, Howl, Short Movie
For some reason I thought this album sucked but it turns out I suck and this album doesn't suck
One of Laura's most pleasant to listen to records. Really interesting switch to more electronic elements with Laura's lyrics being personal and introspective. I really prefer the last half of the album with the first half not offering much for me personally. I thinks it's good but I think it could of been so much better with this sound.
8/10
exceptional
Fav tracks: Warrior, False Hope, I Feel Your Love, Strange, Don't Let Me Bring You Down, Easy, Gurdjieff's Daughter, Divine, How Can I, Howl, Short Movie
One of Laura's most pleasant to listen to records. Really interesting switch to more electronic elements with Laura's lyrics being personal and introspective. I really prefer the last half of the album with the first half not offering much for me personally. I thinks it's good but I think it could of been so much better with this sound.
1 | Warrior 5:19 | 94 |
2 | False Hope 3:12 | 95 |
3 | I Feel Your Love 4:02 | 94 |
4 | Walk Alone 3:19 | 95 |
5 | Strange 3:17 | 93 |
6 | Don’t Let Me Bring You Down 3:10 | 94 |
7 | Easy 3:43 | 95 |
8 | Gurdjieff’s Daughter 4:22 | 95 |
9 | Divine 2:58 | 93 |
10 | How Can I 3:21 | 93 |
11 | Howl 5:05 | 93 |
12 | Short Movie 4:36 | 94 |
13 | Worship Me 3:33 | 94 |
#8 | / | Q Magazine |
#9 | / | Gigwise |
#10 | / | Time Out New York |
#14 | / | Time Out London |
#19 | / | FasterLouder |
#20 | / | Drowned in Sound |
#22 | / | No Ripcord |
#23 | / | Slant Magazine |
#26 | / | The Guardian |
#28 | / | NME |