Marina and the Diamonds – The Family Jewels

Last year, if you were in Britain, it was Little Boots and La Roux.  Female-fronted Electro-pop was hitting the forefront of British music with a vengeance and anyone with a casio and drum machine was being hailed as the next big thing.  And compared to the schlock the U.S. was turning out at the time, it’s no surprise why an entire country looked inward when it came to fostering and cultivating new talent.  A year later and things haven’t shifted much.  While the States are dealing with the Black Eyed Peas and those pesky Glee kids, Welsh singer-songwriter Marina Lambrini Diamandis is getting ready to unleash one helluva debut CD upon the British Public.

In stark contrast to many debut artists, Marina seems to have sprouted forth fully formed; her sound, image, and lyrics seem to be presented in precisely the same way she imagines them.  The sounds are nothing short of epic and swooping, spilling forth from the speakers like a weird bastardization of Tori Amos and Lady GaGa, only without each of their respective audible or visual quirks.  It’s an earthy new wave patchwork with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in, which all translates to the listener reaping infinite rewards when digesting through headphones.

Album opener “Are you Satisfied?”, begins the album, revealing itself to be more of a mission statement than pop song.  Marina asks, “Are you satisfied with an average life” and then confides, “they say I’m a control freak driven by a greed to succeed”.  While the song functions well as a stand-alone piece, it’s a bold move laying her ambitions down so early in the game.  However, this characteristic is replicated in many songs, in that Marina is constantly baring her soul to the point that the listener is never left wondering about the things she’s left out of the mix. Last years single “I am not a Robot” slowly builds on the idea that Marina is human and vulnerable, “Obsessions” casts her as an adulturer, and “The Outsider” paints Marina as social outcast.  Marina never tries to be better than her audience.

Current single “Hollywood” is a great example of everything Marina’s strengths:  an accessible new wave hook, underlying pianos and synths, wordy banter-like lyrics, and thick-as-honey vocals combine to offer commentary on the effects of U.S. pop culture.  Lines like, “I’m obesessed with the mess that’s America” and “your mind is just like mine, all filled up with things benign”, keep the preachyness at bay while forming a comaraderie with the listener.  Additionally, “Hermit the Frog”, while not as accessible as “Hollywood”, is both a compositional and lyrical highlight.  Imagery of a glass balloon shattering melds with marching percussion, piano, synths and multi-layered vocals to create a heartbreak that is almost tangible.

However, it all comes back to her vocals.  While not technically proficient, there’s enough authenticity and conviction here to put her on the forefront of female singers if harnessed correctly.  She doesn’t oversing like some show pony diva; there’s range and she’s very much believable.

Granted, there are a few clunkers thrown in.  “Rootless” is completely forgettable while “Girls” is all too memorable in the way the plodding piano distracts from what the song has to offer.  With thirteen tracks, these could have easily been omitted.

These are small complaints, though, and it’s not very often that an album is released with more good than bad.  The album is cohesive and varied and moving and honest and real.   If her live show can live up to the hype, as well as the bar she’s raised with her debut, she may very well be The Next Big Thing.  It’s February 2010 and here’s the first contender for debut of the year.

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