is officially putting in its two cents on music’s most anticipated new releases, and our first album review of 2012 is of
July 10) in the US. On the follow-up to her 2010 debut, Family Jewels, Marina Diamandis straps on a constructed persona — the titular Electra — a young woman with pangs to live the American Dream as she toils through Hollywood with images of fame, success, adulation and power ringing in her head. This is no new territory for the Welsh songstress, who dived into her fascination with the US on Family Jewels in songs such as “Hollywood” , with the refrain “I’m obsessed with the mess that’s America.” Apparently!
Electra Heart is a concept album highlighting the vapidity and loneliness of girls preoccupied with devouring the aforementioned qualities, a discussion that would feel much more relevant five years ago.Electra Heart might feel dated, but the music is as modern as it gets. Lead single “Primadonna” , produced by Katy Perry Ke$ha ‘s right-hand man Dr. Luke “How To Be A Heartbreaker” (also produced by Luke, along with Cirkut and Benny Blanco Stargate Greg Kurstin Max Martin
Marina And The Diamonds – “Primadonna”
Maybe this isn’t a true album from Marina Diamandis at all. She doesn’t even look like herself anymore — the 26-year-old brunette chopped off her long, dark hair in favor of blond/gray locks, sometimes arranged in Marilyn/Madonna-like curls. Too often she’s winking at us through the shallowness of her alter ego — “Deception and perfection are wonderful traits”, she tries to convince us in “Homewrecker”; “I want blood, guts, and angel cake / I’m gonna puke it anyway,” she tell us in “Teen Idle”, a song that uses a cheerleader chant to describe feeling “super, super, super suicidal!”
The best parts of the album aren’t Marina’s self-conscious moments, when she’s obviously speaking to us through the Electra character. No, it shines when she’s sharing something real. “You only ever touch me in the dark / Only if we’re drinking can you see my spark,” she sadly reveals on “Lies”. “It almost feels like a joke to play out the part when you are not the starring role in someone else’s heart,” she sings on “Starring Role” about being someone’s girl on the side. Whether the singer was ever really in these situations doesn’t matter because the feeling is true.
So maybe this is the album Electra has made. In that case, we look forward to Marina’s next offering.
The Best Song Wasn’t The Single : And “Starring Role” should be one. It’s a good choice after all these uptempo numbers.
Pops Like: I kept getting flashes of Imogen Heap, both her solo work and with Frou Fou.
Best Listened To : While browsing through an Us Weekly .
Full Disclosure : I still think the best thing Marina’s ever done is her Family Jewels single “I Am Not A Robot”, and I was hoping for more of that this time around.
Idolator Rating : 2.5/5
— Becky Bain
