Back in 2010 a young MARINA DIAMANDIS jumped onto the scene with her debut “Family Jewels.” It was here, with her first single “Hollywood”, we were acquainted to Marina’s distinctive, unpredictable vocals and her somewhat cartoon like lyrics. Now fast track to 2012 and we see this Welsh singer/songwriter make a comeback with a new persona, a new ego, ELECTRA HEART, which so happened to be the same name she shared with her record. Marina now found herself a new sense of direction with the hit “Primadonna”, and although a great album, it somewhat lacked Marina’s personality and talent but fueled more of the producers she had worked with.
Following on from her 50’s/60’s American dream, Marina took on a new mission. She soon ditched the big named producers that were anchoring her down and put all her heart and soul into a new album, a new concept, a new adventure. By doing this Marina made what seems to be, hands down, her finest piece to date. “Froot”.
Marina has always been one for curve-ball lyrics and she certainly doesn't disappoint. The opening track “Happy” is at first, an odd concept but upon listening to the rest of the album you can appreciate how fitting it really is. We see a sense of aching, as if it were to be Marina’s last curtain call. She becomes a character of a lost soul, sounding sad but singing of being happy, which is both resoundingly uplifting and bulging with despair, a fantastic contrast. Each stroke of the piano keys gets more and more intoxicating as her vocals wrap around the notes, pure bliss. Now the title track “Froot” explodes into the perfect juxtaposition to “Happy”. Marina suddenly perks up and imagines life as that of a piece of fruit who longs to be plucked and saved from her on going loneliness. Lyrically, she has written this song with an awful lot of metaphors which as the listener, is quite easy to get lost in, but if you have been a previous fan of her work, you will know this all too well, Marina has a way with words. The bass line, accompanied with the crisp beat and all the unique vocals you ever dreamed off, propels this song into a space disco belter. However, for me, the centerpiece of this album is “I’m A Ruin”. It starts with a guitar reverb with very atmospheric vocals which soon sets off the pace. This song seems to capture all the best bits of the album and blend them all into one song full of glamour, anguish and elegance, a real anthem. The lyrics are very much so compelling and tells a tale of a love that has been lost yet there still seems to be a glimmer of hope between both parties. This song certainly is a mixture of emotions that hits the listener from all angles but is suddenly softened by a dance vibe ripping throughout the chorus. Again, another greatly captivating song and rightly so with it being the first single released from the album.
The beauty of this record has to be its winning formula, its simplicity. Having said that, there are points in the album in which you feel she has played it a little too safe in fear of the album sounding like previous records. With songs like “Forget”, “Solitaire” and “Immortal”, it’s clear Marina has let past love hold an influence over her and her sound. Not only is this be the first album she has both written and produced herself, but, undoubtedly this is MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS at their best. If you’re stuck in a rut and need a good solid heartbreak album, this is for you. [7]
Words By Bethan Courtney-Jones
Following on from her 50’s/60’s American dream, Marina took on a new mission. She soon ditched the big named producers that were anchoring her down and put all her heart and soul into a new album, a new concept, a new adventure. By doing this Marina made what seems to be, hands down, her finest piece to date. “Froot”.
Marina has always been one for curve-ball lyrics and she certainly doesn't disappoint. The opening track “Happy” is at first, an odd concept but upon listening to the rest of the album you can appreciate how fitting it really is. We see a sense of aching, as if it were to be Marina’s last curtain call. She becomes a character of a lost soul, sounding sad but singing of being happy, which is both resoundingly uplifting and bulging with despair, a fantastic contrast. Each stroke of the piano keys gets more and more intoxicating as her vocals wrap around the notes, pure bliss. Now the title track “Froot” explodes into the perfect juxtaposition to “Happy”. Marina suddenly perks up and imagines life as that of a piece of fruit who longs to be plucked and saved from her on going loneliness. Lyrically, she has written this song with an awful lot of metaphors which as the listener, is quite easy to get lost in, but if you have been a previous fan of her work, you will know this all too well, Marina has a way with words. The bass line, accompanied with the crisp beat and all the unique vocals you ever dreamed off, propels this song into a space disco belter. However, for me, the centerpiece of this album is “I’m A Ruin”. It starts with a guitar reverb with very atmospheric vocals which soon sets off the pace. This song seems to capture all the best bits of the album and blend them all into one song full of glamour, anguish and elegance, a real anthem. The lyrics are very much so compelling and tells a tale of a love that has been lost yet there still seems to be a glimmer of hope between both parties. This song certainly is a mixture of emotions that hits the listener from all angles but is suddenly softened by a dance vibe ripping throughout the chorus. Again, another greatly captivating song and rightly so with it being the first single released from the album.
The beauty of this record has to be its winning formula, its simplicity. Having said that, there are points in the album in which you feel she has played it a little too safe in fear of the album sounding like previous records. With songs like “Forget”, “Solitaire” and “Immortal”, it’s clear Marina has let past love hold an influence over her and her sound. Not only is this be the first album she has both written and produced herself, but, undoubtedly this is MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS at their best. If you’re stuck in a rut and need a good solid heartbreak album, this is for you. [7]
Words By Bethan Courtney-Jones
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