Actually Her Name's Marina

The 22th of February will bring you The Family Jewels, the first full-length album by Marina Diamandis (better known as Marina & the Diamonds). The release is described by the singer as being "a body of work largely inspired by the seduction of commercialism, modern social values, family and female sexuality". And now was the part where I was supposed to say something clever to make a connection with the review itself, but I'll skip it, because I really feel the urge to get straight to the point.

Even from the beginning, two familiar titles hit your eyes: the tender and full of warmth I Am Not a Robot (known from her previous release, The Crown Jewels EP) and the energetic Mowgli's Road, released as a single last year in November. But the first thing that hits your ears (in a very enjoyable way) is the first track, Are You Satisfied? (I smell a potential single, by the way). Girls reminded me a bit, lyrically speaking, of Stupid Girls by Pink (just a bit, because Pink's lyrics are more acid) and I couldn't help it but smile at the line "I look like a girl but I think like a guy" (in part because I thought "Should I understand that men are the only ones who think in this world? Feminists would kill you with stones, my dear.")

Same kind of song is Hollywood – here the singer mocks the glamorous world of Hollywood stars, denying at the same time any possible resemblance with them ("Oh my God, you look just like Shakira, no, no, you're Catherine Zeta / Actually my name's Marina" and trying to promote the idea of an independent woman, who knows exactly what she wants (ironical, Marina's picture that appears on the album's sleeve is very photoshopped), However, no matter how strong one is, there are also breakdowns and moments of insecurity (The Outsider).

Musically speaking, the album is really diversified, a mixture between electronic sounds, powerful beats and classic instruments like piano or violin, with the tunes being either energetic (most of them) or slow (just a few of them, and that's when Marina gets tired of playing independent). This mixture might tire and also confuse you a bit, but it serves very well the purpose of the album. Using an awful cliché, it's about a woman's feelings, right? So of course it's dazzling and of course it's confusing (now, I hope I won't be the one killed with stones by a bunch of crazy feminists as I leave the house).

On the other side, her voice it's the kind of either-hate-it-or-love-it (and from this point of view, the comparison often made between her and Kate Bush does not seem to be favourable), but for me this was rather of an irrelevant part. All in all, Marina & the Diamonds' debut album is much more than the usual cheesy pop we got used to. I wouldn't call it brilliant, but it's definitely an enjoyable piece of work.

*photo courtesy of Marina & the Diamonds official site