When Laura Marling finishes her piano-led performance of No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Can, a tender love song for her daughter, she claims to feel shy. “That was the biggest impostor syndrome I’ve ever felt singing at that piano,” the 34-year-old says. It’s both charming and ridiculous coming from this relaxed and instinctive live musician, who, half a set in, has commanded the venue with understated power. You’re struck with the sense that she is probably the closest artist her generation has to a Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez or Patti Smith – at least here in her home of England.
Marling’s guitar playing is intricate, blending lead and sitar-like tones, while her vocals – still angelic – have taken on a richer, oaken quality since she emerged a clear victor from the “stomp-clap” folk-pop landscape in her teens. She opens and closes with songs from her earlier albums, including the earthy first four tracks from 2013’s Once I Was an Eagle performed in their entirety, just with her voice and guitar.
