Marina And The Diamonds : 'The Crown Jewels'
Released: 1st June 2009
Label: Neon Gold
Marina and the Diamonds deserve to be a household name. She is not yet and this needs to change.
Riding on the wave of critical acclaim received for her first double A side 'Mowgli’s Road'/'Obsessions', Marina had a lot to live up to if she was going to prove she was something of substance, rather then just a whimsical one hit wonder of 80’s style pop or another Ladyhawke. Luckily for her she has arguably surpassed even the greatest expectations this with her latest EP entitled ‘The Crown Jewels’.
The first track on the EP, 'I am not a Robot' opens with Marina and a piano, nothing else, allowing her uniquely versatile voice to be showcased to all its potential. However the song soon escalates into a slice of indie/soul that is norhing short of brilliant. The song tells the story of a woman who is not very good at being reliable or faithful yet is frustrated about her relationship. Marina is known for her painstakingly blunt and honest lyrics and nothing has changed for this song as she sings, "You’ve been acting awful tough lately/ smoking a lot of cigarettes lately/ but inside your just a little baby". What is so interesting about Marina is that while other female artist’s insult men using explicit language and diggs about the size of their manhood, she is a far more talented wordsmith thus has not needed to resort to stooping to such levels.
‘Seventeen’ sounds heavily influenced by new wave musical revolutionary Lene Lovich both vocally and in terms of its instrumentation. A song that is so perfectly melodramatic you can almost picture Marina in the studio tearing her hair out in rage as sSe describes her ex’s wife as having "all the personality of a lemon that’s been sucked dry".
Closing track ‘Simplify’ is considerably mellower than the previous two tracks. Marinas voice is left to shine as she muses about her thoughts and dreams of a simpler life as she harmonises "they say we’ll get out of the city / they say there is no such thing as a life in the country". With only a piano to anchor her intriguingly unique vocal abilities the song stands out as the E.Ps strongest track and is her best song to date.
If you have not heard anything by Marina and the Diamonds yet, you should. Her fantastically theatrical way of telling a story ensures every song is different from the last.
Her debut album is due for release in October and if this EP is anything to go by it should be nothing short of perfect.
Words: Kevin Angel
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