hypersongs

Alas, I Cannot Swim

The debut, with members of what became Mumford & Sons in the band.
Laura Marling, 2008

Charlie Fink produced, Guy Katsav recorded and mixed, and Guy Davie mastered. Marling sang and played guitar, with Marcus Mumford on drums, percussion and accordion, Ted Dwane on double bass, Pete Roe on banjo and keyboards, Joe Ichinose on fiddle and Tom Hobden arranging strings. "Ghosts" came out as a digital single on December 2, 2007 and "Cross Your Fingers" on June 8, 2008. Metacritic gave 73 from seven reviews; The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan gave 4 of 5 and called it unnervingly grown-up, Pitchfork gave 6.8, and Gigwise wrote that at eighteen Marling has the world at her feet.

Track listing

  1. Ghosts3:01
  2. Old Stone2:59
  3. Tap at My Window2:48
  4. Failure3:21
  5. You're No God2:28
  6. Cross Your Fingers2:24
  7. My Manic and I3:56
  8. Night Terror3:09
  9. The Captain and the Hourglass3:10

More from Laura Marling

I Speak Because I Can (2010), A Creature I Don't Know (2011), Once I Was An Eagle (2013), Short Movie (2015), Semper Femina (2017), Song For Our Daughter (2020), Patterns In Repeat (2024)

Sources

  1. Alas, I Cannot Swim, Wikipedia
  2. Laura Marling, Alas, I Cannot Swim anniversary, Albumism