Laura Marling, Central Hall Westminster - review - Music - Arts

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As she was at pains to point out, Westminster Central Hall "is not actually a cathedral", but as a functioning Methodist church, there was no alcohol served at the bar.

Dressed in a red polo neck, Marling was backed by a seven-piece band, which included in its ranks a banjo player and violinist (though none of the Mumfords, who used to support her). The Muse, taken from her latest album A Creature I Don't Know, showcased this fuller, jazzier sound, which nods to Astral Weeks-era Van Morrison.

Yet Marling can still dazzle with just an acoustic guitar. On Goodbye England (Covered in Snow), her enchanting voice succeeded in the improbable task of making an English winter sound inviting. Night Terror was already magical before the arrival of an incredible whistling solo - at which point, if Marling had suddenly revealed a hidden talent for beatboxing, no one would have been surprised.

But bandmates are useful, particularly when you're petrified of between-song banter, as Marling clearly is. Not only did they add glorious, galloping backing to set highlight Sophia, they were also on hand to deliver some interesting facts about the venue, which played host to the first showing of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. No offence, Lord
Lloyd-Webber, but I know which night I'd rather have been at.

Laura Marling
Westminster Central Hall
Storeys Gate, SW1H 9NH