_560.jpg)
OK, OK, definitely a not so 'rapid' review on this one!
When the catchy pop of radio friendly 'Radioactive' appeared last year, I got rather excited for the second album from Marina Diamandis' outfit, Marina and the Diamonds. However, after 'Primadonna' was debuted, I became far less enthusiastic; what had happend to the quirky Marina of yesteryear?
'Primadonna'
Recently however, after skimming through some of the songs on Electra Heart on Spotify, I decided to give the album a proper go, and in doing this I realised that Marina was just as smart, opinionated and self critical as she ever was, if not more so, but her wit and intelligence was far more slickly hidden.
Take the dance pop of the album's first single, 'Primadonna' for example; many a fleeting ear would dismiss it as a teenager's 'Barbie Girl', and it was largely received so, giving Diamandis her highest charting single to date (Top 10 in UK chart), however lines such as 'living life like I'm in a play', 'I wanna be adored' and 'All I ever wanted was the world/ I can't help that I need it all/ The primadonna life, the rise and fall' hint at darker themes that are displayed more explicitly in other songs, such as 'Lies' and 'Fear and Loathing', with Diamandis bluntly stating in that latter the lyrics of 'I've lived a lot of different lives/ Been different people many times/ I live my life in bitterness/ And fill my heart with emptiness'.
'Fear and Loathing'
Whilst the actual music of the album is dark, sometimes sterile, sometimes emotive pop, it surprisingly works better than you'd think, given the contrast to her previous, more theatrical/ musical direction of her debut album, The Family Jewels.
I'll be honest, Electra Heart surprised me as being a better album than I'd thought it would. But to me, Marina's best quality in her song writing will always be her ability to take somewhat controversial and polarising themes for her songs and mask them within catchy pop songs, and Electra Heart is a far more expansive project than The Family Jewels, spanning media forms (songs, photos, music videos, trailers - it's an entire body of work), as well as Diamandis herself committing herself to the character of Electra Heart within her daily life (the retro outfits, the blonde(?) hair) for the duration of the project and tour. You can't accuse Marina of being anything but thorough!
'Radioactive'
Electra Heart is out now, as is 'Power and Control'.
'How To Be A Heartbreaker' the next single is released in US and UK on 15th October 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment