Laura Marling: Patterns In Repeat review by ADRIAN THRILLS

Laura Marling: Patterns In Repeat (Chrysalis)

Verdict: Worth replaying

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When Laura Marling unveiled her seventh album, Song For Our Daughter, in April 2020, she brought forward the release in the hope her songs 'might entertain and provide a sense of union' in the early weeks of lockdown.

It went down well: the album reached No. 6 in the charts and earned Grammy and Mercury Prize nominations for its maker.

But the daughter in the album's title was an imaginary one — a fictional child that allowed the Hampshire-born singer to step away from the confessional approach that had been her hallmark and focus on less personal matters. 

With Paul McCartney's solo albums her touchstone, the onus was on smart songcraft rather than soul-baring disclosures.

New album Patterns In Repeat is the opposite, a set of deeply emotional songs inspired by the birth of her first child, a daughter, in February 2023. It was made in Marling's home studio while baby Maudie sat in her bouncer, and you can even hear a toddler's gurgles ('backing vocals', according to the credits) at times. There's no attempt to hide anything here.

This isn't just an album about new parenthood, though. Laura, 34, acknowledges singing about bottles and buggies would be 'boring' to anyone outside her immediate circle, so she uses the experience to explore her relationship with her parents and examine love, loss and mortality.

She's also maturing as a singer and guitarist. Just 18 when her first album came out in 2008, she was a precocious talent bracketed alongside 'nu-folk' acts such as Mumford & Sons, but she's since proved much harder to pin down.

Despite being younger than Taylor Swift and Adele, she comes across as an old head on youthful shoulders — and Patterns In Repeat is an album (one without any drumming whatsoever) of hushed beauty and quiet power. No longer a small-town girl in thrall to Joni Mitchell, she's the real deal.

Opening track Child Of Mine is a simple, melodic account of a mother's love. 'I've spoken to the angels who'll protect you,' she sings, backed by soft harmonies and orchestration. 

She says the strings, dubbed by American arranger Rob Moose, are a nod to Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story score, which she listened to when she became a mum.

Marling had expressed fears motherhood would dent her creativity, but she needn't have worried. With a little help from Maudie — and West Side Story — this album is one of her best.

Rag'n'Bone Man: What Do You Believe In? (Sony)

Verdict: Back to bluesy basics

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The last time we heard from tattooed Sussex soul singer Rory Graham — aka Rag'n'Bone Man — he wasn't sure what sort of artist he wanted to be.

That was on his difficult second album Life By Misadventure (2021) when he lurched, without conviction, between country-rock and Coldplay-like balladry.

He sets the record straight on What Do You Believe In?, returning to the sweet soul and blues of his chart-topping debut Human, but broadening the template to include melodramatic showpieces suited to his deep baritone voice.

The 39-year-old's mood is one of hard-won contentment. The title track is a forceful piano ballad about taking inspiration from family life. The Right Way sees him dispensing life lessons to his six-year-old son, Reuben, and three stepsons. 

His paeans to harmony occasionally stray into too-much-information territory — 'At this point, I'd rather sit at home in my pants than go to the party,' hereveals in Hideaway's spoken-word intro.

But he's otherwise back in his comfort zone, working with long-term collaborator Mark Crew and guests including Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid.

This comeback could do with a few more surprises, but at least he's making the most of that big voice.

Both albums are out now. Laura Marling begins a live residency at Hackney Church, London, next Tuesday (GIGSANDTOURS | Concert & Event Tickets | UK Tour Dates ). Rag'n'Bone Man starts a UK tour on November 16 (Live Nation UK ).

LIVE: Dua Lipa (Royal Albert Hall, London)

Verdict: Disco with symphonic stamp

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Putting her Royal Albert Hall debut into lofty historical context, Dua Lipa began with a cheeky reference to three of the most notable figures to have graced the famous stage: Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle and Albert Einstein.

'But I bet none of them had a dress as nice as this,' she quipped, gesturing to the red Gaultier evening gown she had chosen for the occasion.

It's also unlikely they changed into a black Chanel number for the encore — or, indeed, summoned Elton John onstage for a duet. 

Then again, this was a concert 'unlike any other I've done before'. With the British-Albanian star backed by the 53-piece Heritage Orchestra, a seven-strong band and choir, it reiterated her position at the pinnacle of UK pop.

Filmed for a future ITVspecial, this was an exuberant evening of symphonic disco. Lipa became a superstar on the back of 2020's Future Nostalgia, but the onus here was on this year's Radical Optimism.

Electronic anthem Falling Forever was one of several songs transformed into swirling soul tracks, but the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Elton, who joined Dua for a rousing Cold Heart. 

Despite some glaring omissions — New Rules and Break My Heart — this whetted the appetite perfectly for next summer's stadium shows (Live Nation UK ).