Suddenly - it was probably a couple of years ago - everyone liked Laura Marling. I knew that she was folk, and assumed that plus her popularity meant that her style would be pretty, gentle, somewhat melancholy - nothing wrong with that, but there's plenty of it going around and not much that stands out. But it turns out that I underestimated everyone, because I Speak Because I Can, at least, is much tougher, and also better, than I'd imagined - hard strummed acoustic guitar and a frequently fraught air, along with just the right hints of backwoods weirdness and general sorrow, and songs that grow on repeated listens. Like.
