Diandra Reviews It All

Releasing albums since the age of 17, Semper Femina is Laura Marling’s sixth studio album in a little over nine years, which is pretty impressive considering every artist wants to release their best, most self-representative work. Nine years, six albums may not seem a lot, but for artists like, Marling who uses their music like a spiritual “etch-a-sketch” for their soul, it is harder to create when you are also asking yourself to be unabashedly open with your sins, your strengths, and your social philosophies. It is in this task that Semper Femina becomes an album for every woman who fears exploring her self and voice, and needs a little musical push to do so.

Semper Femina does not necessarily plan to be political, but in exploring gender and sexuality, it does becomes so because in today’s world a women’s self-exploration cannot go without societal commentary. Yet, Semper Femina is refreshing because it is personal, and not a grand opus on how society should be kinder to all sexualities and gender. Do not get me wrong it should be! Moreover, we all need those opuses, but we also need to hear more of the ordinary stories/lives that inspire them. Laura Marling’s Semper Femina presents her own, ordinary life with bluesy guitar-driven songs that feel like a car driving through a desert of tumbleweeds and stars. For Marling, the tumbleweeds are her insecurities and, at times, inability to choose herself first. “Wild Once” makes me cry as a woman/ person. For me, this song epitomizes that inner light we all carry and call our “wild self” that if not fed begins to dim within us and become the giant hole in our soul we look into mourning the light that once filled it. I know this is an ambiguous/spiritual statement, but, in essence, Marling captures the sadness and curiosity that can tether a soul to the dreams she decided to let go when they were once the center of her spirit. Thus, Semper Femina becomes political in its honesty and vulnerability over what happens when finding your voice seems pointless if no matter what it will be challenged and, perhaps, silenced.

Laura Marling – Next Time

Next Time

“Next Time”, “Don’t Pass Me By”, and “The Valley” encapsulate an overarching theme to Semper Femina, which is the ways we pass by ourselves and fellow women in need of comfort, motivation, and love. It is amazing to see how often, women/human beings, can dual between putting themselves last for others and completely ignoring their own female community’s needs. Yet, Marling does not sing this duality in judgement but analysis. Her voice has a folkish flare that gives her vocals a mutual breeziness and weight. Her voice can pass through your ears and into you mind with effortlessness, but it lands upon your heart with a striking realism. This effect fascinates me because Marling’s voice and lyrics aim for beauty in their higher tone and descriptiveness, which would be associated with idealism. In songs, “Wild Fire” and “Always This Way” Marling’s vocals are richly poignant in that they are clear in message and movement over her patterned instrumentals, which are not elaborate as much as particular in arrangement. Yet, precision and pretty are exactly what Marling aims to show are the nuances of a female soul.

Laura Marling – Wild Fire (Official Lyric Video)

Wild Fire

Pretty is not just an “outer” description, but an inner one, at least, to Marling. I applaud Semper Femina for resonating with previous strong female singers, such as Joni Mitchell, who understood sugary vocals that sweeten ears should not be less of a rush in people’s minds. Sounding warm and welcoming in your voice does not make your ideas less valuable or firm. On the contrary, they should heighten them, to which Marling does by singing the thoughts and feelings of a woman discovering her femininity in how it interplays with her humanity. To Buy Sempre Femina And Learn More About Laura Marling On March 10 Click Here.

Laura Marling – Nothing, Not Nearly (Official Lyric Video)

Nothing, Not Nearly