AKIRA REVIEW: MARINA & THE DIAMONDS' ELECTRA HEART
Marina & The Diamonds’ Electra Heart
Bubblegum Bitch
Marina
& The Diamond’s first full-length studio album starts out with a bang with
“Bubblegum Bitch”. The standout
instrument in this song is the constant guitar, which gives the song a grittier
feel. That being said, the song
itself (at least vocally and sonically) is very reminiscent of Katy Perry’s
debut “One of the Boys”. The
lyrics are a great gateway towards the rest of the album’s omnipresent theme,
that being of girly girl who “wants it all” (more or less). What makes this song (and the album) a
bit more dynamic that its lyrical theme is that the sound of this album is very
rock meets electronic meets Marina’s eclectic and operatic voice. All this being said, “Bubblegum Bitch”
itself is totally single worthy, and is an all around great listen, not the
best song in the world, but a good intro to a great record.
Primadonna
And
now (if you didn’t know before) the album’s lead single: “Primadonna”. This song is quite different than “Bubblegum
Bitch” because it’s mostly electronic top-40 pop, but this song shows off
Marina’s interesting voice in the best best way possible. Because this is the lead single, most
of you that have heard of Marina have probably heard this song already, but
it’s just a song that won’t get old easily. The catchy hook and sing-along verses ensure this songs
longevity. Besides the beginning
notes of the chorus when she sings “Primadonna girl yeah… all I ever wanted was
the world”, the standout lyric has to be the black sheep of the song when she
sings “fill the void up with celluloid”.
The lyrics is so left field from the rest of the song, but with her sexy
accent, it just works. However
this song was destined to not only be the lead single, but to be infinitely
catch because of it’s father, the great pop producer of our age: Dr. Luke. This song is just… just…. Just great, I
love it, I’ve covered it, and I can listen to it for a long long time. J
Lies
The
third cut on “Electra Heart” is an interesting reinvention of the power ballad:
“Lies”. This is because the song
is very much an electro-pop song, but the instrumentation is reminiscent of
simple dubstep, which really livens up the track. That being said, the song kinda sounds like One Republic’s
“Apologize” after Timbaland got his hands on it, not that it’s a bad
thing. The lyrical content is
pretty straight forward, you know… about love and shit like that… but that’s
not what this is about right now… the fact that Dr. Luke’s instrumentation and
Marina’s voice have found a way to make the ballad interesting and modern is a testament
to both their creative and natural power.
This song is just a great listen.
If you need a slow jam, put this song up for strong consideration.
Homewrecker
I
had found this song when she released her acoustic video of it on her youtube
page, and the one note I have about this track is that her speaking voice is
just not suitable for a slower spoken part. Nothing against her accent (clearly, because I think it’s
sexy as hell) but when she opens the song speaking, you just hear the
awkwardness of a high schooler trying to be deep as he or she reads a
poem. Regardless, the chorus is
infectious, and really holds the weight of the song. To be even more specific, the hook “Cause’ I’m a
homewrecker, homewrecker!” is something that I am still singing to this
day. I’m personally impartial to
this song because I have heard such good spoken word parts (i.e. GaGa’s “Born
This Way” bridge or anything by Madonna) but if you like it, then power to you.
J
Starring Role
This
song sounds like a song that Florence + The Machine wrote and composed, because
Marina’s operatic voice starts out in the beginning of the track in her lovely
dark falsetto. By no means is this
a bad thing, and the song sounds a bit like the masterpiece that was “Lies”
because it holds strong electronic qualities, with Dr. Luke’s fingerprints
written all over the track… even through he didn’t produce this song WHAT?!
–GASP- But it’s still a good
song. It takes a few listens to
get into because it is a slower song, and it may turn you off at first (I know
I definitely skipped it my first listen-through) but if you invest the time to
listen to this song, it’s well worth it, you’ll find yourself singing the
chorus in no time.
The State of Dreaming
Here
is where the album begins to seriously slow down (like tempo wise), and it all
starts with “The State of Dreaming”.
While this song is catchy after a few listens, it can definitely fall
off one’s radar when going through this album pretty easily. Nothing is specifically wrong with this
song, but compared to the songs prior, it just does not hold up. That being said, Marina’s vocals are
fantastic, but put me to sleep for a bit, which is both her gift and her curse
with her eclectic voice. This song
kinda seems like it was just slapped onto the album to make it long enough to
be considered an “album” rather than an EP.
Power & Control
What you will mostly take away from this
song is it’s “star” instrument, the star-y synth bell (all puns intended). This song like, “The State of Dreaming”
is just another passable track, while still catchy and will have its own
section of devoted fans, compared to the first few tracks from this album, it
(like “The State of Dreaming”) does not pull the album’s weight.
Living Dead
This
song sounds like “Bubblegum Bitch” but less poppy and more rock like. So really there is nothing much to say
about this song that hasn’t really been expressed when I wrote about “Bubblegum
Bitch”. One note I would like to
add about this song is that I had found a video of her performing this song
with a backup band when she was performing with a different image a few years
(or months) ago, and she was in total rock chick mode, so the fact that this
song can translate into a top-40 packed album and still fit, is a testament to
the song’s power itself. You go
Marina!
Teen Idle
When
I was just going through the album at first, this song (for whatever reason)
stood out to me, and after a few listens, I can confidently say that I am
hooked onto this song. :D This
song follows the theme of the last song (“Living Dead”) in being a bit darker,
however the lyrical content is still reminiscent of “Primadonna” and because it
is a slower song like “Lies” this song really is the best of everything. The most infectious aspect about this
song is when Marina sings “I wish I’d been, I’d wish I’d been a teen teen
idle”. For whatever I have said
and will say about the songs on this album, one thing is undeniable, and this
song makes that clear, every song on this album is tailored for her beautiful
and unique voice. “Teen Idle”
shows off her voice in such a beautiful way, it’s an astounding listen.
Valley of the Dolls
This
song is slow and boring, I personally have skipped over it a few times, and my
opinion really hasn’t changed after listening to it in full. The song is slow and is kept in her
lower range, which does not show off her astounding range. Endofstory.
Hypocrates
It
is interesting how this song’s instrumental is quite the mood changer from the
dark and (rather) boring “Valley of the Dolls”. What is most apparent about this song is that it sounds very
VERY 90’s, and harkens back to a time when radio was mainly for kids who listened
to bands talk about something really “deep” (I use that word with the upmost sarcasm)
over a teeny-bop beat. What Marina
brings to this California-esque beat is a bit of maturity that not many other
singers at the moment could if they were given this song to sing. Being a 90’s child myself, I thoroughly
enjoyed this beach-ready song from pops new dark queen in a flower dress. ;)
Fear and Loathing
My
goodness! This album seems to be quite…. Reductive ON ITSELF!... this song is
JUST LIKE “The State of Dreaming”.
That is quite enough. However,
I will make this one note about the song, this is probably the most “uplifting”
and universally directed song on the album. On this song, and on this song only, she sounds like she is
talking directly to her fans, which I will never knock, but just the production
is so much like “The State of Dreaming” that I just cannot… say what you want,
but this is just my take on it.
THE BONUS TRACKS
Radioactive
Sex Yeah
Lonely Hearts Club
Buy The Stars
ALL
OF THESE SONGS ARE EXCEPTIONAL. I do not want to write a full review of each of
these songs if I’m just going to say the same thing about all of them, they are
all exceptional, and why they are only the bonus tracks and not replaced with
some songs on the standard edition of the album (cough cough) are beyond
me. I have a particular love for
“Radioactive” (it was produced by Stargate, who gave us Rihanna’s “Only Girl
(In The World”) but all these 4 songs are great. I encourage you all to listen to them all.
In the end, Marina
& The Diamond’s “Electra Heat” is a quite loveable listen, and objectively
a masterpiece in forwarding the art of pop music. What is most distinguishable about this whole experience is
how naturally talented Ms. Marina is at singing, her god-given voice, whether
autotuned or not is quite the unique instrument. I would most certainly recommended this album (preferably
the deluxe version) to anyone who wants to stray away from the traditional top
40 artists of today (I still love them, but I’ve heard it all… so I’m aware of
what other people think too) and listen to something different but still in the
range of the top 40 tunes, like a different take on today’s pop music. FUCKYEAH MARINA & THE DIAMONDS! J