Watch Laura Marling Play Songs From Her New Album In Her Taped-From-Home Tiny Desk Concert
One of the interesting side effects of our current quarantine situation is that we’re getting to see inside a lot of musicians’ homes. And I have to say: Laura Marling is absolutely killing the game with what we can see of her living room. Marling recently sent in a remotely-taped performance for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series, which is currently relying entirely on videos that performers record and home. Marling’s living room, we learn, is full of big pillows and soothing colors. That couch looks like a perfect place for a mid-afternoon nap. This is in London! I am experiencing acute living-room jealousy.
Anyway, Laura Marling’s living room is not the point here. Marling, the UK folk veteran, just released the absolutely stunning new album Song For Our Daughter with very little advance warning. Since Marling, like everyone else, had to stop playing live shows in mid-March. she hasn’t had a chance to play most of these songs live yet. (She did do the first single “Held Down” at a few of her final shows, but those were in Australia. You probably weren’t there.) So this Tiny Desk Concert is our first chance to hear how these songs sound live, albeit in unusual circumstances.
It should not be a surprise that Marling sounds wonderful when she’s playing solo acoustic. She’s used to this. Her voice is magnificent, and it’s amazing to hear her do studio-level stuff on cue on her house. In the Tiny Desk Concert, she does three of the songs from the new LP: “Held Down,” “Strange Girl,” and “Song For Our Daughter.” Watch the performance below.
Song For Our Daughter is out now on Partisan/Chrysalis.