Photo Credit: Frances Carter
Words: Sophie Eley

On her fifth studio album, ‘Dog Eared’, Yorkshire born Billie Marten returns with a record that feels both rooted and untethered. The result is a confident step into more expansive sonic territory, while maintaining the earthiness that has defined the singer-songwriter in her earlier works. ‘Dog Eared‘ is a subtle but assured evolution, capturing an artist embracing change without ever losing her sense of self.

Recorded in New York with producer Phil Weinrobe (notable for work with Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek), the album drifts through a dreamy landscape as mellow synths, woodland acoustics and organic arrangements underscore Marten’s delicate vocals. The record has a richness which feels lived in, like the title suggests, inviting a close listening experience for those immersed in it. Each of the ten tracks carries the feeling of being somewhere outside, grounded in nature and filtered through a clear, lucid sense of reflection. 

Details of identity, relevancy, love and maturity are woven throughout the album’s tracklist, yet Marten never explicitly addresses them. Instead, Marten offers glimpses and quiet reflections which adds to the lucidity of her contemporary folk sound. The opening track and lead single, ‘Feeling,’ embodies this idea perfectly, introducing the era as less about providing answers and more about embracing the uncertainty. It’s a delicate introduction which mounts the album as one to be carefully contemplated. 

Following on, second track ‘Crown’ offers one of the album’s dreamiest moments, before ‘Clover’ quietly shifts the tone, serving as the record’s key emotional anchor. ‘No Sudden Changes’ unfolds with quiet restraint before ending with a sharp instrumental outro. The track’s build feels understated but purposeful, mirroring Marten’s ability to evoke emotional change with the lightest of touches.The same could be said for track titled ‘The Glass’, another emotionally charged song which remains understated. 

The longest track on the album ‘Leap Year’ displays another sense of rawness and vulnerability as Marten captures the weight of solitude and lost love through poignant lines like “Solitude, insufferable” and “Our love is like an ache it keeps you laying awake.” The song which follows, ‘Goodnight Moon’, shifts the sound into a more self-critical and introspective space as the song hints at feelings of blame and inner turmoil. 

‘Planets’ and ‘Swing’ bring more movement to the back end of the album, offering lightness without disrupting the record’s delicate tone. ‘Planets’ moves with a whimsical charm that lifts the mood to keep the final three tracks flowing. While ‘Swing’ closes the album on a high, textured note full of instrumentation, celebrating the impressive track run that came before. 

If her earlier work was marked by delicacy, ‘Dog Eared‘ feels more assured. With the stateside influences making a clear mark on her already established indie folk brilliance, it is clear Billie Marten is not reinventing herself here, rather she is refining. And in doing so, she’s made her most complete and affecting album yet.

You can catch Billie Marten perform ‘Dog Eared’ in full on her current tour of Record Stores across the UK. 

July 2025
18 – London, Rough Trade East
19 – Liverpool, Rough Trade
20 – Sheffield, Bear Tree (Afternoon)
20 – Huddersfield, Vinyl Tap (Evening)
21 – Bury, Wax & Beans
22 – Nottingham, Rough Trade
23 – Brighton, Resident
24 – Bristol, Rough Trade