I face my pretty tragedies… “Exit Strategy” live from Lightship95 (2011)

I face my pretty tragedies… “Exit Strategy” live from Lightship95 (2011)

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“Exit Strategy” performed live on the Lightship95 music studio boat on the River Thames, November 2011.



This song originally appeared on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War – vinyl and CD versions are available in my shop.

At the end of 2011 I assembled a temporary band of superstars in their own right to showcase four songs from my upcoming second album “Little Battles”. We spent a whole day filming on the Lightship95 music studio inside a pink boat moored on the River Thames, and this is one of the songs we played.

Band members:
Annie Gardiner – bass
Dana Jade / Ms Mohammed – guitar
Tom Gardiner – drums

Video shot so beautifully by Ed Christmas, edited by Laura Kidd.
Audio recorded and mixed by Jarrad Hearman, mastered by Ian Shepherd.

🎶 Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.



Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

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Please don’t leave me yet… – “Please Don’t” Live from the Archive (2015)

Please don’t leave me yet… – “Please Don’t” Live from the Archive (2015)

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“Please Don’t” performed live on vocals, guitar and violin at Ort Cafe, Birmingham, 24th March 2015.



This song appears on my 2016 album “Direction Of Travel”, released under the name She Makes War.

Violin by Simon Goff.

Recorded by Dan Hayward, mixed and mastered by Jay Chakravorty. Video by Blacklight Productions.

🎶 Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.



Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

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I’d like to delete myself… – “Delete” Live from the Archive (2015)

I’d like to delete myself… – “Delete” Live from the Archive (2015)

Creativity Homepage Feature Letterbox Live performances

“Delete” performed live on vocals, loop pedal and megaphone at Ort Cafe, Birmingham, 24th March 2015.



This song appears on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War.

Watch the self-shot music video here.

Recorded by Dan Hayward, mixed and mastered by Jay Chakravorty. Video by Blacklight Productions.

🎶 Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.



Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

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Lead me with your lovely lies – “Butterflies” live from Lightship95 (2011)

Lead me with your lovely lies – “Butterflies” live from Lightship95 (2011)

Creativity Homepage Feature Letterbox Live performances

“Butterflies” performed live on the Lightship95 music studio boat on the River Thames, November 2011.



This song appears on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War.

At the end of 2011 I assembled a temporary band of superstars in their own right to showcase four songs from my upcoming second album “Little Battles”. We spent a whole day filming on the Lightship95 music studio inside a pink boat moored on the River Thames, and this is one of the songs we played.

Band members:
Milly McGregor – violin
Dr Kat Arney – harp

Video shot so beautifully by Ed Christmas, edited by Laura Kidd.
Audio recorded and mixed by Jarrad Hearman, mastered by Ian Shepherd.


🎶 Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.

Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

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Digging ourselves a hole… – “A-Hole” Live from the Archive (2015)

Digging ourselves a hole… – “A-Hole” Live from the Archive (2015)

Creativity Homepage Feature Letterbox Live performances

“A-Hole” performed live at Ort Cafe, Birmingham, 24th March 2015.


This song originally appeared on my 2010 album “Disarm”, released under the name She Makes War.

Bass by Simon Goff, drums by Elijah Dahl.

Recorded by Dan Hayward, mixed and mastered by Jay Chakravorty. Video by Blacklight Productions.

🎶 Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.



Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

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Pre-order the Obey Robots album today!

Pre-order the Obey Robots album today!

Creativity Homepage Feature Letterbox Music News


The day is finally here! I’m delighted to invite you to browse the Obey Robots “One In A Thousand” pre-order extravaganza for limited edition coloured vinyl, CDs, cassettes, hardback books, guitar pick tins, tees and hoodies.

Order “One In A Thousand” today and be the first to get “Not The Quiet Type” as an immediate download, plus a new song sent to your inbox every six weeks leading up to the album release date of 24th February 2023.


Rat says – “I never thought I’d be sitting here again saying the words “we’ve got an album coming out” – and I can’t tell you how utterly amazing it feels to say just those words, knowing what both of us have been through over the last three years.

It’s been a long time since I’ve done this, and I had to do a lot of soul searching about whether I wanted to do this again.

I can’t say that I have any words to describe this.”


I say – “The title track “One In A Thousand” sums up the album.

In a potentially very disconnected and lonely world, I hold onto the idea that every single one of us can hold a valuable place in our communities, offering the best of ourselves and receiving love and support in return.

Instead of clawing our way up to a lonely pedestal to be one in a million, we can stand together and be one in a thousand.

I hope you’ll join our friendly robot army.”

Launching new music into the world always brings a mess of emotions with it, and I really can’t thank you enough for your support.

Thank you!

Laura xoxo


Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

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Illuminate my arrow. “In This Boat” live from Lightship95 (2011)

Illuminate my arrow. “In This Boat” live from Lightship95 (2011)

Creativity Homepage Feature Letterbox Live performances

“In This Boat” performed live on the Lightship95 music studio boat on the River Thames, November 2011.



This song appears on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War.

At the end of 2011 I assembled a temporary band of superstars in their own right to showcase four songs from my upcoming second album “Little Battles”. We spent a whole day filming on the Lightship95 music studio inside a pink boat moored on the River Thames, and this is one of the songs we played.

Band members:
Annie Gardiner – bass / vocals
Tom Gardiner – drums
Dana Jade aka Ms Mohammed – guitar
Milly McGregor – violin
Bass – backing vocals

Video shot so beautifully by Ed Christmas, edited by Laura Kidd.
Audio recorded and mixed by Jarrad Hearman, mastered by Ian Shepherd.


🎶 Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.

Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

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I quit social media for 30 days and slept better for a WHOLE YEAR

I quit social media for 30 days and slept better for a WHOLE YEAR

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In June 2021 I quit social media for 30 days…and it helped me sleep better for a whole year.

When I released my album “Exotic Monsters” in May 2021 I was burned out. Musicians can end up spending a lot of time online promoting their work, and I needed a rest.

Social media has been a really great space for me to meet music fans and make all sorts of interesting connections since I started blogging in 2004 and tweeting in 2007, but in recent years it feels like it’s all got a bit too much. Do you agree?

The tactics of the attention engineers employed by those big companies to keep us stuck to our phones seem to have got more aggressive over time, and I’ve personally felt embarrassment, guilt and shame about my sometime phone addiction.

I decided to do something about it, and I’d love to hear what you think of this video.


Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

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With three little words you lied… – “Scared To Capsize” Live from the Archive (2015)

With three little words you lied… – “Scared To Capsize” Live from the Archive (2015)

Creativity Homepage Feature Letterbox Live performances

“Scared To Capsize” performed live on ukulele, vocals and loop pedal at Ort Cafe, Birmingham, 24th March 2015.


This song originally appeared on my 2010 album “Disarm”, released under the name She Makes War.

I dressed up as a unicorn in the music video and travelled in a paper boat across East London.

Recorded by Dan Hayward, mixed and mastered by Jay Chakravorty. Video by Blacklight Productions.

🎶 Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.



Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

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Obey Robots album countdown starts here

Obey Robots album countdown starts here

Creativity Homepage Feature Letterbox Live performances

Sign up here to receive exclusive early access to the Obey Robots album pre-order on October 4th and also be the first to hear the new music (existing mailing list subscribers don’t need to sign up again).

In 2019, I received an exciting email from Miles Hunt of The Wonder Stuff, asking if I’d be interested in writing some music with Rat from Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. Having first heard “Kill Your Television” on a mixtape in 1997, I was over the moon to discover that Rat had stumbled across my work on a YouTube binge – and a new collaboration was born.

Various roadblocks soon cropped up, meaning the journey between that first email and this exciting day has not been easy – but we made it.

In this new video I talk about the importance of keeping going, even when you want to quit (and oh, did I want to quit!), and how proud I am that we finished this record. I can’t wait for you to hear it!


🎶 Fewer than 30 copies of the Obey Robots 7″ vinyl “Let It Snow / Inside Out” remain – get yours here.

Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

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