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See Laura Marling’s ‘Master Hunter,’ a Harrowing Dance Duet

Laura Marling 'Master Hunter' Video Ballet Eagle

Last month, Laura Marling’s “Master Hunter” came crashing out of the gate like an amped up combination of Bill Callahan’s baritone blues and Fiona Apple’s frenetic folk. The former comparison seems almost too fitting considering the title of her forthcoming album, Once I Was an Eagle, sounds like a retort to Callahan’s 2009 masterpiece Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle. We’ve also heard the gentler, Dylanesque “Where Can I Go?” from the May 28 set (coming via Ribbon Music), but there’s something about “Master Hunter” that’s impossible to ignore. That forceful energy is captured and somewhat explained by the song’s new video, in which Marling plays guitar and sings while a dangerous dance takes place in front of her. A waifish woman is beset upon by an aggressive man who overtakes her and simulates sex. Reminiscent of Pink’s American Music Awards performance, which referenced domestic violence, the pair grapple for most of the clip, but when the video ends we’re left wondering who was the hunter and who was the hunted.