Since October, Marina and the Diamonds fans have been plucking the morsels of Marina’s juicy, monthly ripened tracks on Spotify. Yesterday, however, the album was released in full, and people are now able to fully indulge in the forbidden “Froot.” The album was co-produced with David Kosten, but written solely by Marina.
“I’m always really fascinated with single release strategies because everyone wants to go for the big pop banger first, but sometimes that’s not the right thing to do, because for an artist, the most important thing is that people understand who you are,” Marina said about her distribution model to Spin magazine.
The Welsh singer, who’s real name is Marina Lambrini Diamandis, released her second album, “Electra Heart,” in 2012, and left fans hankering for another taste of her music. “Electra Heart” was based around the idea of having many characters, somewhat like a soap opera. During this time, Marina never strayed from her wig and the heart on her cheek. Now she is breaking away from this style: Her 2015 releases are written from the perspective of someone who has gone through a breakup. The spin is that it’s from the viewpoint of the heartbreaker, and yet there is just as much as emotion as if it had been from the point of view of the heartbroken.
Each song on the album, titled “Froot,” offers a new color, or mood. “Froot,” the album’s namesake, is upbeat, quirky and empowering with lyrics like, “Good things come to those who wait but I ain’t in a patient phase,” while still being ominous. Other songs on the album, like “I’m a Ruin” and “Happy” are a bit darker and more reflective on relationships; the most important of these being the relationship you have with yourself. “I’m a Ruin” is about loving yourself selfishly while “Happy” has deep yet hopeful vocals with sweet piano accompaniment about coming into whom you are. Overall, it shows Marina as an artist who’s reflective and self-aware.
But not every song is a hit. One main complaint of the album so far is the song, “Forget.” This one lives up to its name, coming across as repetitive, forgettable and somewhat of a filler. Another song, “Immortal,” has a similar feel but is trance-like. It discusses the difficulties of wanting to mean something to people and make connections while knowing nothing is permanent, especially human experiences and life.
Marina has chronicled events as a writer: “If you just take away the industry aspect of it, I see albums being a chapter of your life,” she told Spin. As a pop star, she’s able to reach out to a lot of people, which is, “satisfying for a songwriter because really all you want as a human … you want to know that you relate to people and you’re not the only one feeling those things.”