Monday, 25 March 2013

Marina and the Diamonds- Electra Heart Album Review




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Album- Electra Heart

Artist- Marina and the Diamonds

So apparently Marina wanted to release Electra Heart under a different moniker and embrace a pop artist identity. But her label persuaded her to not do it, most prominently so that her more alternative fan base was not alienated. But I kind of feel that anyone who has listened to Marina that she has always had a pop sensibilities and most of her songs have that pop undercurrent, and that it’s just natural for her to embrace that. And despite this album being more pop orientated, I also feel that the album still has some alternative sensibilities. Being a very concept driven record in which Marina puts on different personas, has she created a massively great modern pop record?

Track 1- Bubblegum Bitch

The opening track is a bratty, in your face vitality in which Marina puts on the kind of Rachel McAdams Mean Girls kind of persona and boldly declares that she is going to be a bubblegum bitch, all the while using sugary sweet imagery and stereotypical ideologies that make for a clichéd but catchy listen, with the hook being a strong statement and highly catchy. Vocally she keeps it on a simple level and lets the energy of the track really do the work, with the production matching the lyrics in a great way in terms of the fast paced drum beats and guitar riffs that make for an almost aggressive but cool sound.

3.5/5

Track 2- Primadonna

The first Dr Luke collaboration is a strong pop orientated affair with a cool dance energy that finds Marina vocally putting on the persona of a diva kind of girl who lives for adoration. Lyrically the track was inspired by a former beau who referred to Marina as a mega drama queen centred in this need for global love, and so she taps into this quite superficial and undesirable energy into the track to create a powerful hook within the chorus and a bratty but sweet energy that shows the dual sides of this character in a strong way. Luke brings his great pop sound to the track in a great way by allowing the chorus to be a bit more stripped back, with simple piano melodies and a kind of music box twinkling rhythm, then getting the powerful dance beats to be unleashed in the verses and helping to emphasise this personas craving for adoration. Vocally Marina is also great, employing a nice falsetto in the chorus to make for a sugary sweet listen, and then going into a deeper register for the verses to emphasise the calculated nature of this character. The melding of the high vocals and dance beats at the end makes for a powerful finish that should have you singing along by that point.

4.5/5

Track 3- Lies

The second Dr Luke collaboration is a simple electro pop affair with a ballad feel and an emotional sound as a whole. The track opens with simple layered vocals that give an almost haunting quality to the song, and then Marina begins to fully sing in an emotionally loaded way. The vocals are strong, particularly in terms of the slow lyrical stresses in the pre chorus and the transition into a strong, higher register in the chorus. Lyrically the track finds Marina singing about this relationship that has gone wrong, in which the man is too proud to say things have gone wrong and everything is just built on lies. It’s a simple ideology that is melded into a strong pop hook and which taps into a mind-set that will be familiar to many people. Production wise the song is strong in terms of maintaining the tone of the piece, with the guitar riffs in the middle section being particularly potent and allowing for a big finish, although the dance pop beats are perhaps potentially a little overpowering in the chorus.

3.5/5

Track 4- Homewrecker

Opening with a radio crackling kind of voice over where Marina speaks of the ways in which relationships and characters go in life, before she boldly sings “And I don’t belong to anyone”. The song’s lyrics find Marina putting on another persona in which she is basically the girl who sets out to ruin relationships just because she thinks its fun. However whilst the hook is a bold statement and has a catchy quality, the track is a little too lyrically repetitive and is not as tight as the previous numbers, as she vocally switches between powerfully sung hook to radio sounding spoken word verses that just become annoying after a little while. The production however is strong, being toned down in the verses to allow for a great kick in the chorus with its booming bass line.

3/5

Track 5- Starring Role

Here Marina brings a really emotionally loaded performance in which she lyrically speaks of a relationship within the metaphorical ideology of acting. In simple terms the track finds Marina singing about the end of this relationship and how this guy just won’t really open up and has just really messed up, so if she doesn’t get that place she wants in his heart and mind (a.k.a. the starring role) then there is nothing in the relationship for her. The lyrics are an intricate meshing of ideas and are really helped by a strong vocal performance in which Marina really reaches into the higher realms of her voice to give a sense of vulnerability to the number, whilst the layering of her vocals works well in giving a sense of strength to match the vulnerability. The production of the track is also another example of where the producers really meld well with the lyrics and vocals, with the two beat music box rhythm and the wind chime effect of the introduction making way for clattering, forceful beats that in the pre chorus almost feel like they border on dubstep, but instead throughout the song they keep the track in a light pop territory, with the transition back to the simple beats and wind chimes in the outro making for a nearly haunting finish.

3.5/5

Track 6- The State of Dreaming

The delicate and dark energy continues with this track which finds Marina employing the soft quality of her voice to great effect and lyrically speaking of how she is living in this non-existent state where her life is a play and she just is so much better in this life of make believe. The track starts off in a vulnerable and haunting way before building into a big, vocal and production driven number that reflects the dreaming ideology of the track and beautifully taps into that notion that many people have of losing themselves in their own minds. The big sound of the track comes through not only in the vocal performance in which Marina really belts out the chorus, but also in production with its booming bass and small moments of haunting violins. And in giving us this sound Marina draws a great paradox in the record, drawing a fine line between happiness and darkness and expressing how dreaming is both a great and terrible thing to live life by.

3.5/5

Track 7- Power & Control

This up tempo number is very much a dark fantasy kind of piece that to me has an almost dark twisted fairy-tale aspect to it. Lyrically the track is very light and basic, with the chorus being a powerful hook driven section in which Marina takes the reins and tells her lover that she has a hold of his heart and is the boss of this relationship. The tracks dark atmosphere is brought out powerfully by the vocal performance, with the chorus being a punchy layered vocal that offsets the more soft spoken verses in a impressive and grand way. The production of Greg Kurstin is also brilliant, being toned down in the choruses to simple electronic beats that still have a fast paced energy, and then transitioning into booming bass beats in the chorus that really strengthen the track and make it sound not only a catchy and dominant listen but also a really believable statement.

4/5

Track 8- Living Dead

This electronic based number to me kind of has a eurhythmics kind of a feel to it in terms of its sound, but however I wouldn’t say it is on the same level as those tracks. The lyrics of the song talk of Marina living in this state of where her life is just so monotonous and she hasn’t really achieved much, and although it’s an ideology that people will connect with, the hook isn’t as strong as her other tracks, and the sentiment feels a little bit familiar in terms of the overall tone of the record. Vocally she is strong and gives a punchy quality to the track through the way she switches between her higher and lower registers, although the repetition in the track is annoying. Production wise the track has a strong electronic base that keeps the track going but doesn’t make it a really interesting listen.

2.5/5

Track 9- Teen Idle

Many people have noted the similarities of this track with the music of Lana Del Ray, with Del Ray also stating that she was a fan of the track. Whilst there are similarities, that does not mean this is not a Marina song, and it’s definitely a rich peace that is an album highlight. The tracks lyrics are paradoxical in terms of their embracement of innocence and darkness. And lyrically it is just great in tapping into that search for identity in your younger years, with Marina vocally bringing this ideology to the fore with fragility to her voice and also highlighting the paradoxical qualities, particularly within the cheerleading quality of the line “feeling super super suicidal”. The production keeps the track on a simple but strong level, with dark but minimal beats in the beginning and then a more forceful sound as the track continues that builds and just borders on too powerful but manages to sound good.

4/5

Track 10- Valley of the Dolls

This more stripped back affair features simple drum beats and an orchestral sound that gives gravitas to what Marina is singing. The track is also cool in terms of highlighting how she is really good vocally, as the production is kept on quite a simple level and so she shows her prowess by vocally carrying the song, although the layering of her voice is a little bit excessive. Lyrically the track is of a deeper grain and finds Marina singing of this search for an identity, although the lack of  a good hook, and perhaps if the song had gone a little bit darker, means that it is a good but not great listen.

3/5

Track 11- Hypocrates

The title of the track might be a little bit misleading as it suggests that the song has a powerful depth to it. However the track is actually a very simple pop love and heartbreak song in which lyrically Marina calls out this guy for telling her how to live her life and acting as if he is perfect, thereby running the relationship effectively. Vocally she keeps a light tone that shows vulnerability but also makes for a really chilled listen, and in terms of production the track has more of an acoustic feel than the other tracks, with light guitar riffs, simple piano melodies and nice drumbeats that are a little stereotypical but also sound simple but effective.

3.5/5

Track 12- Fear and Loathing

The final tracks title would suggest it finds Marina going to a dark place musically, and indeed this is the case, but there is also a touch of hope in this track as she lyrically expresses how she doesn’t want to be in this negative state despite the fact that she very much is. The haunting production is kept on a minimal level and here Marina just really purely sings to get the message across. The last minute of the track with its echoing soundbite is absolutely pointless, but all in all a strong end.

3.5/5

US Edition Track and latest single release- How To Be A Heartbreaker

For a while this only existed on the albums American edition but has finally been released in other territories, and I just really wanted to highlight this song as I think it is a great pop number. Lyrically the song is a kind of step by step from Marina on how to be a love tease and how to play various guys, breaking people’s hearts and in the process never allowing yourself to get hurt. The song has a vibrant tone and a strong pop hook, emphasising that she would indeed make a very good, fully fledged pop artist. Vocally she is really on point, with a light tone that keeps the flirtatious edge of the track ticking along nicely and makes for a really enjoyable listen, with Dr Luke’s production keep a nice dance and guitar based rhythm to the track that will definitely make this a catchy number that doesn’t escape your head.

4/5

Final Review

In listening to this record I was fully in the mind-set that she could both incorporate her alternative quirks with modern pop sensibilities. But in listening to the record as a whole, I feel that she is an artist torn between wanting to become a pop star and wanting to remain in the roots of her music that got her noticed. And whilst in certain cases it works, as a whole the record feels torn, with the latter half being to down tempo and serious in tone, even if this does make for some great music. So for the next record she need to add more variation, give a bit more up tempo dance energy to the record, and fully decide who she wants to be as an artist.

6/10
Best  Track- Primadonna

Worst Track- Living Dead

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