Laura Marling

Since I wrote the below, Laura's debut album, produced by Noah And The Whale's Charlie Fink, has become Mercury nominated. It's possible this might need to be updated again soon
How do you sum up Laura Marling and her debut album "Alas I cannot Swim"? I'm gonna cheat and let her sum it up. It tells you all you need to know about Laura and her attitude to music.
You'll notice that this album doesn't just appear in a 'normal' format - the music is part of a 'Song Box', designed by Laura, which contains postcards, trinkets and stories - plus a concert ticket to her shows in March. 'The idea came of a conversation I had with a guy who owned the studio I was recording in,' says Marling. 'He said he was depressed with the way music's going, because nobody buys records any more and people are listening to MP3s on bad headphones, using music for wallpaper.' So, she designed the chart-ineligible, beautifully printed 'Song Box': 'I want people to *love music,' she says, 'I want people to treasure it, not just my songs, but treasure music.