Albums to watch

A Creature I Don't Know

Laura Marling

A Creature I Don't Know

Third album from the indie folk singer-songwriter whose earlier releases were both nominated for the Mercury Music Prize

ADM rating[?]

8.0

Label
Virgin
UK Release date
12/09/2011
US Release date
19/09/2011
  1. 10.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    At the album’s centre is a gaping monster mouth of a song called The Beast, which swallows almost six minutes of angry electric guitar
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  2. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    These are truly wonderful songs that deserved to be poured over and analysed for months to come. What's truly incredible though is the thought that she seems destined to get better and better
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  3. 9.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    What Laura Marling has created with 'A Creature I Don’t Know' is remarkable
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  4. 9.0 |   The Digital Fix

    By laying her heart bare for all to see Laura Marling proves that she is not only one of the greatest artists of her generation but also one of the bravest
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  5. 9.0 |   God Is In The TV

    A delightfully assured piece of work
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  6. 9.0 |   The AU Review

    Marling has created an album here that is both exhilarating and affecting
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  7. 8.4 |   Paste Magazine

    Her best album yet—definitely her most musically and lyrically ambitious
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  8. 8.0 |   Clash

    A sign that Marling has transcended the “nu-folk” movement and carved her own magnificent identity
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  9. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    The influence of her musical hero Joni Mitchell looms over her fluent vocal stylings
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  10. 8.0 |   Scotland on Sunday

    Gloriously giddy, if not quite great
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  11. 8.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    With Creature Marling has delivered something that has her own personal sound throughout, but still manages to explore both lighter and darker territory
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  12. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    It’s difficult to avoid her self-contained web of poetic passion
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  13. 8.0 |   FasterLouder

    A brilliant release that fans and newcomers will equally adore
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  14. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Another fascinating, furiously beautiful work that maintains her position as England’s reigning folk princess
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  15. 8.0 |   Rave Magazine

    Marling transcends the traps that often snare artists of the genre
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  16. 8.0 |   State

    While A Creature I Don’t Know might have been born of Marling’s grief and recovery, it also shaped an illuminating path for her startling maturity as a songwriter, vocalist and arranger
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  17. 8.0 |   NME

    If 'I Speak Because I Can' was a towering musical achievement, 'A Creature I Don't Know' is an emotional triumph
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  18. 8.0 |   Mojo

    There's much about the older 2011-vintage Marling that makes her not just a better singer-songwriter, but better company. Print edition only

  19. 8.0 |   Q

    A strong record, which does nothing to diminish Marling's lustre ... yet the author's edgier qualities sometimes risk dilution by a pronounced streak of safety-first professionalism. Print edition only

  20. 8.0 |   Uncut

    It's deeply impressive ... the sound of an artist setting herself new targets and hitting each one with real panache
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  21. 8.0 |   The Fly

    Not as instantly loveable as its predecessor, ‘A Creature I Don’t Know’ is a more sophisticated and complex creation, and as a result needs repeated listening and unpicking before it starts making sense
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  22. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    A splendid musical progression, A Creature I Don’t Know is poised, layered and brimming with skilfully executed emotions. A great album
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  23. 8.0 |   The Independent

    Continues to impress on her third outing, though the transatlantic influences are becoming more apparent
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  24. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    An air of inquiry suffuses Laura Marling's third album, a mood of experimentation as cerebral as it is playful
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  25. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    As a musician she exists on an elevated plane far above most of her peers
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  26. 8.0 |   BBC

    Another fine release from Marling, lyrically dark but skewing in the main towards an increasingly sunny, sophisticated sound
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  27. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Album number three doesn't get us any closer to an unguarded emotion but it does find this buttoned-up artist inhabiting her craft with ever-greater aplomb
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  28. 7.6 |   Pitchfork

    Stark and direct
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  29. 7.0 |   Spin

    If the Sheryl Crow–isms of the first few tracks throw you off, sit tight
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  30. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    There is something slightly frustrating about listening to a singer like Marling, with all her passion and thoughtfulness, seeming to slightly hide behind her creations
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  31. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    While her music still belies her age, her laser-beam narrative focus still indicates a young adult willing to believe that everything matters
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  32. 7.0 |   Tiny Mix Tapes

    After three extraordinary albums, she’s got to trip up somewhere, right?
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  33. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    These songs, as commendable as they are, simply aren’t as alluring as those on previous works
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  34. 7.0 |   Bowlegs

    There are plenty aspiring to tell stories like Mitchell, but few have the skills to carry it off like the second half of Marling’s ‘A Creature…’
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Laura Marling: A Creature I Don't Know

  • Download full album for just £7.99
  • 1. The Muse £0.99
  • 2. I Was Just a Card £0.99
  • 3. Don't Ask Me Why £0.99
  • 4. Salinas £0.99
  • 5. The Beast £0.99
  • 6. Night After Night £0.99
  • 7. My Friends £0.99
  • 8. Rest in the Bed £0.99
  • 9. Sophia £0.99
  • 10. All My Rage £0.99
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