Short Movie | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 23 March 2015 | |||
Genre | Folk, folk rock, alternative rock | |||
Length | 50:06 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer | Laura Marling, Matt Ingram, Dan Cox | |||
Laura Marling chronology | ||||
|
Short Movie is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling, and was released on 23 March 2015. The album marks a change in style for Marling, being the first record in which she plays electric guitar as opposed to the acoustic instrumentation of her previous four records. [1] On June 17, Marling released a deluxe version of the record, Short Movie (Director's Cut). The deluxe record included new tracks, as well as new artwork. Marling was nominated for the Best Female Solo Artist Award at the 2016 Brit Awards because of the record.
Following the release of Once I Was an Eagle, Marling felt dissatisfied with the songs she had written for her fifth record. She described the attempt as "a boring afterthought [to Once I Was an Eagle.]" [2] Following her tour in support of the previous record, she decided to turn away from music for six months, and instead invested her time in a number of different pursuits, exploring the spiritualist and mystical side of Los Angeles. This period was highly formative, and forms a large part of the subject matter on Short Movie. [3] Marling later called the album, "The middle of a thought, rather than a conclusion," in a radio interview.
The album is a relative departure from Marling's previous four albums. It is her first self-produced record, Marling wanting to "demystify production." [4] As well as this, Short Movie is the first of Marling's records not to have a six syllable title. Marling also added a layer of distorted, bowed, electric guitar, to the album, creating a low, dissonant sound, reminiscent of urban background noise. At times this is so quiet that it is unnoticeable, and at others is far more prominent, as in the opening track, ″Warrior″.
The record deals with Marling's feelings of solitariness and dislocation in Los Angeles. Marling has described Los Angeles as a city that rejects negative attitudes in people, and this is reflected in the sixth track, ″Don't Let Me Bring You Down″, in which she sings "Living here is a game I don't know how to play." Marling's activities in Joshua Tree are referenced when she sings "I've got us lost so I've turned us off in Joshua tree," in the song ″Easy″, her implied exploration with psychedelics apparent in the line, "It was a bit too high for me/ I spent a month thinking I was a high desert tree." Marling describes another part of her American experience in the lead single, ″False Hope″, which is about her time in Manhattan when Hurricane Sandy struck. The title of the record comes from a meeting Marling had with a hippie in a bar in Mount Shasta. Often his response to what Marling said was, "It's a short fucking movie, man," this attitude influencing the lyrics on the title song. [5]
Marling was also inspired by the work of Chilean filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky. Part of his biography is the subject matter of ″Gurdjieff's Daughter″, in which he recounts a meeting with Renya D'Assia, the spiritualist's daughter. The opening track ″Warrior″, is also partly inspired by Jodorowsky's film, The Holy Mountain.
Marling recorded and co-produced the album in Urchin Studios, in London. She recorded with long-time cellist, Ruth de Turberville, the bassist, Nick Pini, and Noah and the Whale fiddler, Tom Hobden, with her co-producer Matt Ingram playing the drums. She requested that the string players perform blind, meaning that they only heard each track once and were given just the key of the track, before recording their parts. [6]
Marling released the music video for the first single, Short Movie, on 17 December, when the album's release was announced. Prior to this, she performed at a number of Holiday shows, as a support or guest act. [7] Marling released the album's second single, False Hope, on 21 January. The song received its first airing on Zane Lowe's programme on BBC Radio 1, and was followed by the official audio release. Two live videos of the songs, False Hope and I Feel Your Love, were uploaded to Marling's YouTube account as part of promotion for the record. The video version of I Feel Your Love is noticeably different from that of the album, with Marling playing electric guitar and the live version containing no strings.
In the run up to the album's release, Marling hired a number of artists to paint murals on billboards in various locations in London. [8] The murals are based upon the album's abstract cover, with each muralist being given free rein to augment the artwork if they so chose.
On 1 April, Marling released a music video for the song, Gurdjieff's Daughter. The video is set in Marling's former home in Silverlake, LA. It is directed by Chris Perkel and Max Knight, with whom Marling worked on the short movie, 'Woman Driver'. [9]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.9/10 [10] |
Metacritic | 81/100 [11] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [12] |
The A.V. Club | B [13] |
The Daily Telegraph | [14] |
The Guardian | [15] |
The Independent | [16] |
NME | 8/10 [17] |
Pitchfork | 7.4/10 [18] |
Q | [19] |
Rolling Stone | [20] |
Spin | 8/10 [21] |
Like Marling's previous four records, Short Movie has achieved critical acclaim, despite achieving a less unanimously positive reception than Once I Was An Eagle. On review collation site Metacritic, the record has an aggregate score of 81 based upon 28 reviews, signifying "universal acclaim". [11] Writing for The Daily Telegraph , Helen Brown said, "No doubts about this: Short Movie is a masterpiece". [14] Similarly, Michael Hann of The Guardian, called Short Movie a "Slightly frayed masterpiece". [15] Sarah Greene of Exclaim! praised Marling's songwriting, writing that "her bold statements and revelations seem more grounded in real life observations this time around, less in archetypes." [22] Many reviewers have described Short Movie as a transitional record, marking her departure from a typically folk style to a more alternative or rock-oriented sound.
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
NME | NME'S Albums of the Year 2015 | 2015 | 28 [23] |
Slant Magazine | The 25 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 23 [24] |
The Guardian | The Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 26 [25] |
The Telegraph | Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | - [26] |
Uncut | 75 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 44 [27] |
Exclaim! | Exclaim!'s Top 10 Folk & Country Albums | 2015 | 7 [28] |
Q | Q’s Top 50 Albums Of 2015 | 2015 | 8 [29] |
Mojo | 20 Best Albums Of 2015 So Far | 2015 | - [30] |
Spin | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 So Far | 2015 | - [31] |
Brooklyn Magazine | The 20 Best Folk Albums Of 2015 | 2015 | 9 [32] |
Newstalk | Tom Dunne's Albums of 2015 | 2015 | - [33] |
Diffuser.fm | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 37 [34] |
Rough Trade | Albums of the year 2015 | 2015 | 96 [35] |
Time Out | The 25 best albums of 2015 | 2015 | 10 [36] |
FasterLouder | The 50 best albums of 2015 | 2015 | 19 [37] |
Fopp | The best albums of 2015 | 2015 | 95 [38] |
All tracks are written by Laura Marling.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Warrior" | 5:20 |
2. | "False Hope" | 3:13 |
3. | "I Feel Your Love" | 4:03 |
4. | "Walk Alone" | 3:20 |
5. | "Strange" | 3:18 |
6. | "Don't Let Me Bring You Down" | 3:10 |
7. | "Easy" | 3:44 |
8. | "Gurdjieff's Daughter" | 4:22 |
9. | "Divine" | 3:00 |
10. | "How Can I" | 3:22 |
11. | "Howl" | 5:06 |
12. | "Short Movie" | 4:37 |
13. | "Worship Me" | 3:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I Feel Your Love - Director's Cut" | 2:54 |
2. | "Warrior - Director's Cut" | 3:42 |
3. | "David" | 3:00 |
4. | "Daisy" | 3:06 |
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [39] | 30 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [40] | 40 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [41] | 38 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [42] | 12 |
UK Albums (OCC) [43] | 7 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [44] | 26 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [45] | 17 |
US Folk Albums (Billboard) [46] | 8 |
Natasha Khan, known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released five studio albums: Fur and Gold (2006), Two Suns (2009), The Haunted Man (2012), The Bride (2016), and Lost Girls (2019). She has received three Mercury Prize nominations. Khan is also the vocalist for Sexwitch, a collaboration with the rock band Toy and producer Dan Carey.
Laura Beatrice Marling is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit Awards.
Alas, I Cannot Swim is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize.
Noah and the Whale were a British indie rock and folk band from Twickenham, formed in 2006. The band's last line-up consisted of Charlie Fink, Tom Hobden (violin/keyboards), Matt "Urby Whale" Owens, Fred Abbott (guitar/keys) and Michael Petulla (drums). Doug Fink (drums), the brother of lead singer Charlie, and Laura Marling were also past members of the band.
Florence and the Machine are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and a collaboration of other musicians. The band's music has received acclaim across the media, especially from the BBC, which played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of BBC Music Introducing. At the 2009 Brit Awards they received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. The band's music is renowned for its dramatic, eccentric production and Welch's powerful vocals.
I Speak Because I Can is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling, released on 22 March 2010.
Maya is the third studio album by British rapper M.I.A., released on 7 July 2010 on her own label, N.E.E.T. Recordings, through XL Recordings and Interscope Records. Songwriting and production for the album were primarily handled by M.I.A., Blaqstarr and Rusko. M.I.A.'s long-time associates Diplo, Switch and her brother Sugu Arulpragasam also worked on the album, which was mainly composed and recorded at M.I.A.'s house in Los Angeles. The album's tracks centre on the theme of information politics and are intended to evoke what M.I.A. called a "digital ruckus"; with the album, elements of industrial music were incorporated into M.I.A.'s sound for the first time. A deluxe edition was released simultaneously, featuring four bonus tracks.
Claire Elise Boucher, known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has incorporated influences from electronic music, hip hop, and rock. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. She has released five studio albums.
A Creature I Don't Know is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling, released on 9 September 2011. The album was announced in June 2011, along with a preview of a new song, featured in a video posted on Laura Marling's official YouTube channel. The first track from the album to receive radio airplay was "Sophia", on 25 July 2011 on BBC Radio 1. The "When The Bell Tolls" tour of America, Canada and England was announced on 25 July, and took place in September and October 2011 to support the album.
Laura Mvula is a British singer. A native of Birmingham, England, Mvula has gained experience as a young member or leader of a cappella, jazz/neo-soul and gospel groups and choirs. She was classically trained. In 2012, she signed with RCA Records and released an extended play, She, to critical acclaim.
Once I Was an Eagle is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling, and was released on 27 May 2013. "Master Hunter" was the album's first official single release. It was nominated for the 2013 Mercury Prize. The record achieved unanimous critical acclaim, and has been cited as one of the best singer-songwriter records of the 21st century.
Ultraviolence is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on June 13, 2014, by Polydor and Interscope Records. Originally dismissing the possibility of releasing another record after her major-label debut Born to Die (2012), Del Rey began planning its follow-up in 2013. Production continued into 2014, at which time she heavily collaborated with Dan Auerbach to revamp what she initially considered to be the completed record. The album saw additional contributions from producers such as Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Daniel Heath, and Rick Nowels, and features a more guitar-based sound than Del Rey's previous releases.
For All My Sisters is the sixth studio album by English band The Cribs. It was released in Germany on 20 March 2015, in the UK on 23 March and in North America on 24 March. The Cribs announced the album title and track-listing on 19 January 2015, along with the teaser track "An Ivory Hand". The album was recorded in New York with producer Ric Ocasek - the last album he produced before his death in 2019. This is the first Cribs album to not be released by their longtime label Wichita Recordings, as the group signed a deal with Sony RED UK to release recordings under their own label, Sonic Blew.
Divers is the fourth studio album by American musician Joanna Newsom, released on October 23, 2015 via Drag City.
Art Angels is the fourth studio album by Canadian musician Grimes, pseudonym of Claire Elise Boucher. It was digitally released on November 6, 2015, through 4AD, and in physical formats on December 11. Boucher began planning the record in 2013 as the follow-up to her third studio album, Visions; however, for unknown reasons, she scrapped most of the material from these sessions and began a new set of recordings in 2014. The track "Realiti", which came from the earlier recordings, was released as a demo in early 2015.
Love You to Death is the eighth studio album by Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara, released on June 3, 2016, on Neil Young's label Vapor Records through Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Greg Kurstin, it is the follow-up to the duo's 2013 release Heartthrob, also produced in part by Kurstin. "Boyfriend" was released as the album's lead single on April 8, 2016. The same day, "U-Turn" was also released as a promotional single.
Semper Femina is the sixth studio album by British singer-songwriter, Laura Marling, and was released on 10 March 2017, on More Alarming Records. The album was produced by Blake Mills. The album's title is taken from the song "Nouel".
Miss Anthropocene is the fifth studio album by Canadian musician Grimes, released on February 21, 2020. It marked her first album in over four years, after the release of 2015's Art Angels. The album was officially announced on March 19, 2019. The name of the album is a pun on the feminine title "Miss", and the words "misanthrope" and "Anthropocene", a neologism popularised in the year 2000 by Paul J. Crutzen that was proposed to denote the current geological age the Earth is in. The album is a loose concept album about an "anthropomorphic goddess of climate change" inspired by Roman mythology and villainy. Miss Anthropocene is Grimes' final album on record label 4AD, to which she has been signed since 2012. The album is darker in style than Grimes' 2015 album Art Angels, containing inspiration from the sounds of industrial music.
Earth is the debut solo album by the English musician Ed O'Brien, released under the name EOB. It was released by Capitol Records on 17 April 2020. It was produced by Flood and Catherine Marks and features musicians including the drummer Omar Hakim, the Invisible members Nathan East and Dave Okumu, the folk singer Laura Marling, the Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley, the Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and the Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood.
Song for Our Daughter is the seventh studio album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling. It was released on 10 April 2020. It was co-produced by Marling with longtime collaborator Ethan Johns. The album's title is figurative, with Marling writing to a fictional daughter.