Speaks as quiet as a sparrow. Sings as loud as a lion. That is Laura Marling who was, quite simply, wonderful at the Metro Theatre on Monday night. This will be a relatively brief review as I am currently in the busy Splendour sideshow week and I am a bit pressed for time. Suffice to say she delivered a concise, emotive and at times glorious set. As only a recent convert to her music this was my first time seeing the young London singer. And I left impressed. Playing equal parts from both of her albums, plus a couple of new songs she had the audience in hushed rapture through out. Her band was great too. There was a cello (always superb), a double bass and Marcus Mumford on mandolin. They all combined to produce a lush and warm atmosphere. "Devil's Spoke" was a powerful opener and was a definite highlight. As was the melodic "Ghosts" and the dark "Alpha Shallows". Laura also had a five song middle where she was left solo on her acoustic. The stunning moment here was "Goodbye England (Covered in Snow). Ms Marling also explained that she is trying to lead a world wide movement against the staged encore. So there was to be no encore as we were alerted to the stark fact that the last two songs played were definitely the last two. But the audience was so in love with her that it was accepted as a good idea. Which in truth it probably is. So we all left satisfied, having witnessed a superb and burgeoning talent. A young woman with a huge voice. Now, I have to get ready for a date with some Rabbits from Scotland and then some Broken men from Canada.

Set List
Devil's Spoke
Hope In The Air
Rambling Man
Ghosts
My Manic And I
Blackberry Stone
Night Terror
Don't Ask Me Why (new song)
? (new song)
Made By Maid
Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)
What He Wrote
Alpha Shallows
Alas, I Cannot Swim
I Speak Because I Can