Alas, I Cannot Swim

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.[8]

Alas I Cannot Swim
Studio album by
Laura Marling
Released4 February 2008 (Download)
11 February 2008 (Street)
Recorded2007
GenreFolk, alternative rock
Length38:22
LabelVirgin
ProducerCharlie Fink
Laura Marling chronology
Alas I Cannot Swim
(2008)		 I Speak Because I Can
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Drowned in Sound[2]
The Guardian[3]
The Independent[4]
Pitchfork Media(6.8/10)[5]
The Times[6]
Uncut[7]
Q (2008)
NME

Background

The album was produced by the lead vocalist of her previous band, Noah and the Whale, Charlie Fink, and was initially released on 4 February 2008, conventionally released a week later.[9]

Marling had released a number of smaller singles and EPs before releasing her debut album. She told Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph: "I did my first EP just to get rid of songs I didn't like. They were just so awful. I don't think I really found out what I was doing until about six months after I signed a deal."

"The whole album is about being between 18 and 19; about love."

Recording

The album was recorded in Eastcote Studios, a small independent studio in the west of London regarded as "honest and organic" by Marling.[10]

Promotion and release

The album was first released on 4 February 2008 in a "songbox" format, which comprised the CD album, a redeemable code for free concert tickets, and a "memento" for every song on the album.[12]

Reception

Critical

Media response to Alas, I Cannot Swim was favourable; aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised rating of 73% based on 7 critical reviews.[13] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan called the album "unnervingly grown-up" and wrote: "Simplicity is the key: playing acoustic guitar and singing in a gentle verge-of-womanhood voice, she keeps things homespun and rootsy."[14] Kev Kharas of Drowned in Sound noted "Marling's skill at making one word bleed with more meaning than half a dozen or so vainglorious chorus lines",[15] while Allmusic's Stewart Mason commented on the "old-school '70s singer/songwriter vibe" of the album, focusing in particular on her "alluringly husky voice and graceful acoustic guitar".[16]

Due to the timing of the album coinciding with Feist's commercially successful third studio album The Reminder, Mason said that "there's every chance that [she] will get lost in the shuffle as the unexpected commercial success [...] leads major labels to unleash hordes of similarly talented female singer/songwriters". Comparisons between Marling and Canadian songwriter Joni Mitchell were cited by many, including Andrew Murfett of The Age, Matt Connors of The Courier-Mail and Cameron Adams of The Herald Sun.[10][17][18]

In addition, "Ghosts" appeared in Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2008 at #43, and "Crawled Out of the Sea" was used in the final episode of the third series of Skins. In October 2011, NME placed "My Manic and I" at number 146 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[19]

Commercial

Alas, I Cannot Swim entered the UK Albums Chart at number 45.[20] It was certified gold in the United Kingdom, selling over 100,000 copies.[21]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Laura Marling.

No.TitleLength
1."Ghosts"3:01
2."Old Stone"2:59
3."Tap at My Window"2:48
4."Failure"3:21
5."You're No God"2:28
6."Cross Your Fingers"2:24
7."(Interlude) Crawled Out of the Sea"1:16
8."My Manic and I"3:56
9."Night Terror"3:09
10."The Captain and the Hourglass"3:10
11."Shine"2:39
12."Your Only Doll (Dora)"7:19
  • "Alas I Cannot Swim" is included at the end of "Your Only Doll (Dora)" as a hidden track

Personnel
  • Laura Marling – voice, guitar
  • Marcus Mumford – drums, percussion, accordion
  • Tom "Fiddle" Hobden – string arrangement
  • Pete Roe – banjo, keyboards
  • Ted Dwane – double bass
  • Joe Ichinose – fiddle
  • Guy Davie – mastering
  • Guy Katsav[22] – recording, mixing
  • Charlie Fink – production

Charts
Chart performance for Alas, I Cannot Swim
Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 98
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 45

References
  1. Stewart Mason (11 February 2008). "Alas I Cannot Swim – Laura Marling | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  2. "Album Review: Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. 11 February 2008. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  3. Caroline Sullivan (8 February 2008). "CD: Laura Marling, Alas I Cannot Swim | Music | The Guardian". Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  4. "News | UK and Worldwide News | Newspaper". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  5. "Alas, I Cannot Swim | Pitchfork". Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  6. "The Times & The Sunday Times : Music review". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. 11 April 1917. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  7. "Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim – Review – Uncut.co.uk". Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  8. "Nationwide Mercury Prize nominations announced". Bearded magazine. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  9. Dan Cairns (30 March 2008). "Laura Marling, 2008's true musical talent". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  10. Andrew Murfett (14 March 2008). "Alas, I Cannot Swim – Music". The Age.
  11. "Smells like teen spirit". Bristol Evening Post. 28 February 2008.
  12. "Laura Marling to release album in 'song box' format". nme.com. NME. 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. The package will contain the CD album, entry to a gig in the form of a redeemable code, plus 'momentos' relating to each song on the album.
  13. "Critic Reviews for Alas, I Cannot Swim at Metacritic". metacritic.com. 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  14. Sullivan, Caroline (8 February 2008). "CD: Laura Marling, Alas I Cannot Swim". The Guardian. London: GMG. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  15. Kharas, Kev (2011). "Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim". drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  16. Mason, Stewart (2011). "Alas I Cannot Swim – Laura Marling". allmusic.com. Allmusic. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  17. Matt Connors (19 June 2008). "Dig the new breed". The Courier-Mail.
  18. Cameron Adams (13 March 2008). "Alas I Cannot Swim". The Herald Sun.
  19. Schiller, Rebecca (6 October 2011). "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  20. "Wild things run fast". The Statesman. 27 December 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  21. "Edinburgh has room for Laura". Business7. 26 November 2010.
  22. "Alas I Cannot Swim – Laura Marling | Credits". AllMusic. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  23. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 176.
  24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
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