ALBUM REVIEW: Laura Marling – Patterns In Repeat

Chrysalis/Partisan Records

Released: 25.10.24

Patterns In Repeat is a staggering milestone from one of the finest songwriters of the century so far; a meditation on the overwhelming emotions and profound experience of parenthood, the album makes for a worthy follow-up to 2020’s magnificent Song For Our Daughter.

Whilst that album was written for a fictional daughter, Patterns In Repeat follows the birth of Laura Marling’s first child in 2023 and boasts a lush, vivid sound that often focuses solely on vocals and acoustic guitar. Vocal textures and elegantly restrained strings enhance the album’s soundworld without being overwrought or cluttering, recalling the singular approaches of LPs such as Joni Mitchell’s Hejira and Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie and Lowell. It’s an indisputable masterpiece.