How Britain’s most bewitching singer-songwriter’s latest album, ‘Song For Our Daughter’, became a soothing balm for troubled times

Here’s a painfully relatable moment on ‘Song For Our Daughter’, the title track of Laura Marling’s exceptional new album. “Taking advice from some old balding bore / You’ll ask yourself, ‘Did I want this at all?’” she sings ruefully of the sort of dodgy situations so many of us have found ourselves in – not least Marling herself.

Given that the folk singer has been in the limelight since she was 17, the line holds deep personal significance for her. “It is essentially a letter to my younger self,” she explains. “I think it’s part of the human condition to long for a mentor, and I wish that someone had instructed me in my ability to say no, or to walk out of the room if I felt uncomfortable.”

Is that something she feels she didn’t do enough of when she was younger? “Definitely,” says Marling. “I don’t regret it, but I’ve accumulated a lifetime’s worth of experiences now that have informed how I conduct myself.”

Of course, nothing could prepare any of us for the current situation: we’re two weeks into coronavirus-induced self-isolation when NME calls Marling at her home in north London. Everyone’s coping in their own way, and one of our foremost musical talents has gardening and canines on the mind. Continue reading →