Laura Marling Debuts New Material

Mercury nominated singer Laura Marling has begun work on her second album, but took time out to play a special show in London last night (March 30th).

Laura Marling emerged from London's creative alternative folk scene. Having worked with Lightspeed Champion and toured with Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling is the darling of the scene - and may well be the most striking artist.

Debut album 'Alas I Cannot Swim' was a spectacular first effort. Recorded in a rush, its intimate setting captured the emotional hush of Laura Marling's voice, and her spell-binding material.

Nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, the album eventually lost out to Elbow but gained many new fans in the process. Since then, Marling has toured relentlessly but recently took time off to work on new material.

Clearly tiring of the recording process, Laura Marling took to the stage in London and shocked fans with new material such as 'Rebecca' and 'Drinking Alone'. The singer was joined with Marcus Johnstone from Mumford & Sons, with the pair having worked together before.

Mumford & Sons had a miserable time at SXSW recently. After missing their plane Johnstone suffered a rare allergic reaction to a peanut and a schedule collaboration with Marling was cancelled.

Laura Marling seemed eager to stretch out, including surprise covers of Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' and Hank Williams' 'Ramblin' Man'.

Leaving the stage, the singer indicated this would be her only London show before August. Laura Marling played the following tracks:

'Ghosts'
'Blackberry Stone'
'Darkness Descends'
'My Manic And I'
'Rebecca'
'Drinking Alone'
'Oh Mamma How Far I've Come'
'I Gave You All'
'Alpha Shallows'
'Hope In The Air'
'Ramblin' Man'
'Alas, I Cannot Swim'
'Jolene'