Marina Diamandis

Making a welcome return to the quirky pop stylings of her breakthrough period as Marina and the Diamonds, Marina Diamandis strikes a balance between that era's wit and energy and the introspective balladry of her later work on her fifth set, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land. Though not as sprawling as 2019's double album Love + Fear, Ancient Dreams takes a similar approach by thematically splitting itself in two, dividing pain between existential crises and internalized heartbreak. For fans of her earlier LPs, the electrified half of this effort is a nostalgic delight, immediately reviving the trademark vocal cadence and lyricism of Family Jewels and Electra Heart on the opening title track, a pulsing standout that sounds like Muse's "Uprising" colliding with Britney Spears' "Womanizer."

The second studio album from Marina Lambrini Diamandis finds the mercurial Welsh singer/songwriter assuming the role of diva in waiting, trading in the ballsy, quirky retro-pop of her 2010 debut, Family Jewels, for the glitzy (and still relatively ballsy) electro-thump pomp of Ke$ha and Lady Gaga. Produced by Dr. Luke (Katy Perry), Liam Howe (Sneaker Pimps), Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen), and Rick Nowels (Madonna), Electra Heart is a brooding, sexy, desperate, overwrought, and infectious record that's both aware and unashamed of its contrivance. In short, Diamandis is trying to expose the artifice of big-box pop music by using its own voice, and despite the obvious trappings of the concept, she does a fairly respectable job. Her resonant operatic voice is expressive enough to make a lyric like "Candy bear, sweetie pie, I wanna be adored/I'm the girl you'd die for," from the capricious opener "Bubblegum Bitch," feel less like a floozy come-on and more like a malicious schoolyard taunt.

“It was quite earth-shattering,” Marina Diamandis tells Apple Music. “The feeling of not knowing what you want to do with your life is terrifying. And I’d never had that before because I had the luxury of being very focused for 10 years.” The singer-songwriter is describing the career knife-edge she found herself on following 2015’s Froot. Fortunately, an extended hiatus allowed a musical recharge, and with her streamlined stage name and double album, we’re all witnesses to a glorious pop return. “I’m at peace with myself,” she says. “I feel less nervous than I’ve ever felt. And besides, when you’re uncertain, you don’t have anything to lose.” Here, she takes us through both sides of her opus: the radiant pop of LOVE and the darker, more introspective FEAR.