Album Review: Marina And The Diamonds – Froot
3 min read
Marina Diamandis (aka Marina And The Diamonds) burst onto the new wave/indie pop scene back in 2010 with her debut studio album The Family Jewels, and was soon followed by her electro pop directed sophomore effort Electra Heart, thus spawning her addictive single Primadonna which is her highest charting track to date. Marina is back with her third album Froot, she turned to David Kosten to produce it as she was looking for a collaborator who could capture the recording experience she desired; the album was recorded with a live band as there is a huge difference between listening to Marina live and listening to her music. And why spell fruit as froot? So that the O’s could inter loop on the album cover, thus making it cool; unfortunately the album was leaked prior to release, but fortunately it was released earlier, so let’s have a listen!
Second single Happy opens the album on a relatable scale, you find yourself on a journey to finding peace within yourself as the airy pop ballad takes you there, finding happiness in your loneliness is a goal within itself and Marina captures the emotion successfully. Lead single and title track Froot is the fast paced and energetic track we love to hear from the starlet, the vocals are fun and dynamic and the lyrics are ripe for picking; Marina stated that half of the album is written about a relationship of hers that had ended recently, third single I’m A Ruin expresses regret and sorrow on her behalf and she uses her voice in a way to depict such heartbreak. Blue is synth pop at its finest, the consistent beat carries the track with precision and the vocals are yet again commendable; Forget is a catchy energetic number that you won’t easily, uh, forget!
There’s a nice and smooth ringing to Gold, whereas Can’t Pin Me Down works with its clouded verses and bloomed chorus; Solitaire is more of a darker number, its depth captures you from beginning to end, if you haven’t been into the way Marina has written tracks on the album so far this song will win you over. The album adds an edgy rock element to its prominent pop sound, Better Than That tells the story of a girl who gains a bit of a reputation, another addictive track; Weeds takes us back to the luscious synth pop, there’s something about Marina’s voice that keeps you coming back for more. The synths wonderfully introduce the snappy Savages, Marina has been noted to analyse the behaviour of humanity through her music, this track is a classic example of questioning what’s in our DNA; Immortal ends the album in classic Marina style, the smooth bass line and vocals collaborate to carry the airy verses, whereas the song explodes within its chorus.
Froot is sweet, delicious, ripe and juicy; Marina and the Diamonds just keeps getting better and better with each album release, and her third album exists as a great example to that statement. Marina is not going to serve up the pop that every other artist is shoving down your throat, this is possibly synth pop in one of its purest forms and you can hear the love she has for her genre flow through the veins of every track. There was not one song on the album that sounded or felt purposeless, every track belonged and Marina owned every single one of them; if her live essence was captured on this album as intended, then seeing her perform live would be astounding. There is something about Froot that is addictive, in this case you can’t have too much of a good thing, this album won’t spoil.
