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10.0
93750
10.0 |
The Independent
When pondering gets this skilled, and this fruitful, the dividends far outweigh the misgivings
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10.0
93883
10.0 |
NME
The most serene, stylistically varied album Marling has ever created – and that’s surely the point
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10.0
93888
10.0 |
musicOMH
Few songwriters, let alone any still in their mid-20s, are able to illuminate such complex material with this degree of insight and personal experience
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10.0
93943
10.0 |
A.V. Club
The result is a record of great affection and fluidity
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10.0
93953
10.0 |
The Irish Times
Six exceptional albums in, and not yet 30 years of age? There’s no reason to doubt that for Laura Marling the road ahead will be lengthy, stimulating and diverse
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10.0
94093
10.0 |
State
The narratives on this album are about loving women, but more importantly, it’s about loving as a woman, and the expectations and stories we weave around those we love
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9.6
94053
9.6 |
AU Review
One of her strongest, and one of the year’s best to date
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9.0
94233
9.0 |
No Ripcord
United with the strongest set of songs of her career, she has reached a new peak in a career full of them. Semper Marling
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9.0
94098
9.0 |
The 405
The list of comparison artists on Semper Femina is a lengthy one. Marling encapsulates the modernity of Conor Oberst, the tenderness of Leslie Feist, the production chops of Ryan Adams, and so on
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9.0
94103
9.0 |
Paste Magazine
Song after song, Marling positions herself as a participant observer of sorts, examining the extent to which she and the women in her songs are straining to accept themselves, and perhaps each other, as they truly are
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9.0
94032
9.0 |
Clash
An analysis of femininity and womanhood with a profoundly personal edge
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8.3
93892
8.3 |
Consequence Of Sound
A strong, elegant, and self-assured album that, in its creative arrangements and lyrical world building, contains remarkable complexity and depth in terms of both skill and concept
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8.0
93949
8.0 |
Evening Standard
A record that suggests her next decade of songwriting is going to be even more rewarding
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8.0
93952
8.0 |
The Guardian
Telling details and big ideas
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8.0
93957
8.0 |
The FT
The artist employs folk guitar and entrancing strings as well as slurred electric riffs and rapid-fire vocals
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8.0
93985
8.0 |
The Observer
The overarching theme is of perspectives – male, female and in-between – and female relationships
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8.0
94117
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Powerful display of Marling's craft and, the album's driving force, love
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8.0
93885
8.0 |
American Songwriter
A declaration from a songwriter at the peak of her creative abilities who, nevertheless, always insists on a fresh beginning
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8.0
93841
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Semper Femina’s biggest feminist statement is its focus on individual freedom, delivered with the kind of instrumental and compositional restraint that only songwriters of Marling’s calibre are capable of
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8.0
93899
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Feels like a continuation, or companion piece, to her Reversal of the Muse project that explored female creativity in the male-dominated music industry
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8.0
93910
8.0 |
Exclaim
Yet another astounding testament to her talent
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8.0
93935
8.0 |
DIY
Yet another hard-to-pin, experimental statement
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8.0
93938
8.0 |
All Music
Having entered the limelight early, the 27-year-old singer/songwriter has now settled into a comfortable groove to on this finely honed career highlight
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8.0
93795
8.0 |
The Skinny
Semper Femina continues her decade-long hot streak with another collection of finely wrought vignettes on love, loss, and the empowerment that can be found in both
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8.0
93746
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
While Marling's desire to explore cultural attitudes head-on is certainly laudable, one can't help feeling her real strength lies in the exceptional beauty of her songs
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8.0
93747
8.0 |
Q
A joy to hear. Print edition only
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8.0
93748
8.0 |
Uncut
A timely testament to change as a positive force
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7.9
93999
7.9 |
Gig Soup
Ultimately, it’s an album that broaches a step along the tentatively expanding path for songwriting by women, for women
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7.8
93893
7.8 |
Earbuddy
May be her most interesting album
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7.7
94036
7.7 |
Pitchfork
Filled with beautiful observations on the psychology of friendship
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7.5
97128
7.5 |
Pretty Much Amazing
If you take one thing away from this review, it’s that you should absolutely listen to “Soothing”, but don’t set your hopes too high for Semper Femina based on its quality. Who knows, though—you might be pleasantly surprised
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7.0
94698
7.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Semper Femina is a refreshing collection from a performer whose charms never waver
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7.0
94038
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
She's a wordy folk-soul queen of entirely her own making
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7.0
94041
7.0 |
The Digital Fix
A confident release from an artist who has hit her stride and knows exactly what she wants to say and how to say it
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-
7.0
93809
7.0 |
The Music
More Waits circa '83 than Dylan circa '65
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-
7.0
93751
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
An album that seeks to push folk's innate naturalism into an even more progressive space, eschewing any trace of outmoded roles and stereotype
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7.0
93849
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
It sounds a lot just like a collection of quite pretty songs about women
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6.0
93749
6.0 |
Mojo
Some might find the work's almost wilful-seeming opacity and slight whiff of academia off-putting. Print edition only
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6.0
93992
6.0 |
God Is In The TV
Semper Femina has an interesting set of vantage points about women and intriguing lyrics to match
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