DIAMONDS AREN’T FOREVER
For her fourth studio album, Marina debuts a new name and a new sound. By AMANDA SHEPPARD
FOUR YEARS
on from the release of her last record, British singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis has undergone something of a reinvention. For one, she’s dropped ‘and the Diamonds’ from her stage name; she now just goes by ‘Marina’.
Gone too is the escapist pop she was best known for. In its place is LOVE + FEAR.
The two-part, 16-track record was inspired by psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ belief that these are the two primary human emotions. LOVE retains the familiar synth-pop sound, but it’s masking deeper, more purposeful and pointed music than ever before.
On opening track Handmade Heaven
Marina showcases her ethereal vocals, while also paying tribute to the bonds between likeminded people and capturing a longing to reconnect with nature. Elsewhere on the album, To Be Human celebrates unity in an era when divisiveness and difference are the more common rhetoric of the day.
But the album isn’t a total departure from her Diamond days. The driving beats of her previous hits like Primadonna and How to Be a Heartbreaker are recognisable – albeit in a more subtle guise – on Superstar and on Baby, a collaboration with Clean Bandit and Luis Fonsi of Despacito fame.
The message of LOVE is one of hope, while the latter half of the record – FEAR
– tells a tale of taking control. Under the guise of upbeat melodies, these are songs with an activist edge. Karma chronicles the rise of the #MeToo movement, while No More Suckers is a song about love lost and a life regained. It’s a definite contrast, a clear shift in tone and meaning.
There’s a time and a place for escapism, but Marina has closed that chapter – at least for now. She’s chosen instead to chronicle the times, providing catharsis instead of distraction. It’s a bold direction to take, proof that the artist has channelled her own fear, battled her demons – and won. Perhaps there’s no place for diamonds in the world we live in.