Laura Marling: 'Devil's Spoke'

With a Mercury Prize nod for her debut album, a well-documented break-up with fellow indie darling Charlie Fink from Noah & The Whale, and critics fawning over her new LP I Speak Because I Can, it could be tempting to spurn the hype and give Laura Marling's brand of brooding, stormy folk the cold shoulder. However, do so at your own cost, because 'Devil's Spoke' offers ample evidence why she's attracting accolades like a magnet.

New producer Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon) hasn't erased her rootsy appeal, but he's definitely added some musical meat, gradually layering the track with Mumford & Sons-style twangs and insistent banjo riffs. She may be only 20, but Marling's husky vocals suggest she's got more life experience than most so callow. The enchanting hooks and dark lyrical sneers ("All of this can be broken, hold your devil by his spoke and spin him to the ground") don't suggest that chart success is abound, but that shouldn't deter you from investigating this exciting young British talent further.