Patterns In Repeat is Laura Marling’s eighth studio album, released on Chrysalis/Partisan on October 25th 2024. Marling herself painted the cover art: a geometric structure in earthy tones, reminiscent of stained glass, which, upon closer inspection, reveals a human silhouette kneeling in prayer.
The album was recorded in her home studio shortly after the birth of her first daughter. It feels deeply homely, even more than her previous album, Song For Our Daughter, which had been her most intimate and domestic work to date, exploring the concept of motherhood through the lens of an imagined daughter. Patterns In Repeat picks up where Song For Our Daughter left off, but this time the daughter Is real. With Patterns In Repeat, Laura Marling invites the listener into an even deeper intimacy, one that she often shielded behind elaborate soundscapes and prosaic lyrics.
The opening track, “Child of Mine”, begins with domestic sounds recorded between takes, including her toddler’s soft cooing. “Child of Mine” is a tender ode to motherhood, a promise of eternal love and protection to her child.
The second track, “Patterns” narrates of Zena, one of the many well-crafted women in Marling’s production. Perhaps Zena is from a different generation than Alexandra, one of the characters from Song For Our Daughter, but she’s no less inspiring—a woman caught between a free-spirited past and a more pragmatic present. Zena lives through patterns in repeat, a concept Marling, a well-versed scholar with a master’s degree in psychoanalysis, describes as the series of daily domestic events and their consequences, along with the actions and reactions they inspire. The album covers all aspects of everyday life, from laying a baby to sleep with the soothing melody in “Lullaby”, to the passing of time and acceptance of aging in “Looking Back”, a song written over 50 years ago by Marling’s father. Patterns, indeed.
“Caroline” is a raw, emotional song that derives power from the refrain’s incomplete lyrics. It tells the story of a man who receives a call from Caroline, a long-lost former partner hoping to reconnect. In a modern-day version of Tom Waits’ “Martha”, Caroline is told never to call again whilst the man tries to sing back bite of the song he once wrote for her, but only the melody and a few scattered lyrics remain—“something, something, Caroline.”
True to the album’s title, the final song, “Patterns In Repeat”, closes this meditation on everyday domesticity and reprises—rather than repeats—a string passage from the opening suite of Marling’s most acclaimed album, Once I Was An Eagle.
In Patterns In Repeat, Laura Marling crafts an intimate exploration of the beauty and complexity of everyday life, through the themes of motherhood, memory, and identity. With a profound yet understated honesty, Marling draws listeners into her world, where the cyclical patterns of life become both comforting and transformative. This album is a quiet but intense reminder of the significance that hides in life’s smallest moments, celebrating the often-overlooked poetry within the mundane.