It’s a woman’s world on Laura Marling’s sixth album, “Semper Femina,” her latest set of cozy, folky melodies carrying profoundly enigmatic tidings. The characters in her new songs, from start to finish, are women; men, except for someone’s mean father, are absent, simply irrelevant to her current intentions.

Between albums, Ms. Marling has also been busy with “Reversal of the Muse: An Exploration of Femininity in Creativity,” a podcast series of conversations with female musicians, producers, engineers and executives. But her backup musicians and technicians on “Semper Femina” are men: most prominently, the album’s producer, Blake Mills, the guitarist who has lately worked with Alabama Shakes, Fiona Apple and John Legend.

Ms. Marling is a subtly virtuosic guitarist with a voice that’s pensive, consoling, poised and wise beyond her years [ . . . ] Read Full NY Times Review