there was very little chance of our missing laura marling, whose debut album alas i cannot swim made an immediate impression on us, when she rolled through town last weekend with fellow countrymen johnny flynn & the sussex wit and mumford & sons. you can imagine, then, our expectations. which makes us all the more happy to report that they were exceeded. marling sounded terrific, singing, we thought, even better than on her record, and the harmonies with her bandmates (upright bass, keys, fiddle, drums/accordion) lent the songs a v. appealing bonhomie & robustness. the standouts: "ghosts" and, especially, "my manic & i".

johnny flynn, the evening's nominal headliner, also performed rather well, though skipped over "wayne rooney" - surely a tragedy, no? - ultimately accounts in large part for our demoting him to second billing (bias! you call; granted, we respond). he did, though, have us humming "the box" all along our way home.

show openers mumford & sons, with whom we were not previously familiar, something we have resolved to remedy rather quite soon, were excellent. for those of you scoring at home, that's an even three for three; in other words, if you have a chance to catch this lot tomorrow in seattle or at any of their future dates, by all means do so.

laura marling - ghosts (live)

laura marling - my manic & i

johnny flynn - the box

mumford & sons - roll away your stone