Pop albums are famous for their opening tracks, they set the tone and overall feel of an album. For instance, Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream opens with the title track, a track full of summer vibes which sets the tone for the fun teenage poppy goodness that follows. Sia’s Chandelier opens with the explosive ‘Chandelier’, setting the tone for an album that will stun with powerful vocals and hard hitting production. However, when an album as cohesive as Marina and the Diamonds’ newest release FROOT is announced and with the lead single being the disco-pop juicy title track, you wouldn’t expect it to open with a piano driven dream-pop song titled ‘Happy’.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCB_MbYyCYQ&w=740&h=422]
Marina and the Diamonds first hit the scene back in 2010 with her Indie pop critically acclaimed album The Family Jewels with memorable singles ‘Hollywood’ and ‘I Am Not A Robot’. Since then, her fans (the diamonds) have formed a strong bond with Marina and have supported her along her start into music. After that Marina took a break from the public eye and dedicated the next two years on creating an album what would define her. In 2012, the album Electra Heart was released where she created a separate pop star, obsessed with wanting everything and nothing, her name was Electra Heart. This album let Marina have some fun and branch out, working with some big names in the pop industry and created a pop album, which remains to this day one of the best in the business, spawning the singles ‘How To Be a Heartbreaker’ and ‘Primadonna’.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7z19xLjNXs&w=740&h=422]
What could Marina do next that would keep her fans pleased and continue to change the game. Well she would go back into hiding, working hard on this follow up to what would be her most personal album yet. FROOT becomes an important milestone in the singer’s career as Marina alone writes this entire album. FROOT is a pure as a pop album gets, the personal edge that the solo writing adds to each track leaves a lasting feeling on the listener. With first single ‘I’m A Ruin’ having the songstress reach into her opening depths through various trills and riffs whilst ruminating about her life. “I’ve played with your heart / and I could treat you better, but I’m not that smart” and other songs such as ‘Forget’ where she preaches “Sometimes you have to learn to forget about it”
Even though this album is well written and is as personal as most albums get, some of the songs on this album are growers. Sure, her die hard fans will be able to flow straight into this album, but for new listeners this album could take a while to get into. Songs such as ‘Weeds’ and ‘Solitaire’ don’t leave a lasting impression straight away. This album isn’t the strongest follow up to Electra Heart, but the album is in it’s own lane of personal strength and growth within an artist who deserves this album to be successful.
Words by Connor Brown