Laura Marling returns with "Soothing", the first single from upcoming record Semper Femina

Marling shows off new strings to her bow in the offering, moving away from folk and towards off-kilter pop. Robust, bassy notes shoulder the main hook, with drums spasming in the background - rhythms are at the forefront of the exploratory ode, which slinks and slithers through shadows, eschewing Marling's oft-bright tones.

The accompanying video, above, sees Marling make her directorial debut.

"Soothing" teases Marling's follow up to 2015 LP Short Movie. The new record, her sixth, is described as "intimately exploring themes of gender and sexuality," and comes after Marling's podcast series Reversal Of The Muse which explored the "feminine presence in the studio".

“I started out writing Semper Femina as if a man was writing about a woman," Marling says of the LP. "...and then I thought it’s not a man, it’s me - I don’t need to pretend it’s a man to justify the intimacy of the way I’m looking and feeling about women. It’s me looking specifically at women and feeling great empathy towards them and by proxy towards myself.”

Semper Femina was recorded in LA in late 2015, and produced with Blake Mills (Alabama Shakes, Jim James).

Marling has also announced nine UK tour dates for March 2017, including a headline stop at London's Roundhouse. Find out the full dates and ticket info.