She may appear as a coy, ghostly mistress on the album cover, but that is certainly not an indication of where Marina Diamandis has taken her alternative new-wave/pop since her startlingly fresh and formed 2010 debut. Diamandis hides in plain sight under hair curlers and too much concealer, anathema to "Electra Heart"'s sound: a fizzy mix of Ke$ha's electro-pop sounds with the bite and clever writing of Lily Allen. Though shifting genres this early in her career might seem like a sell-out move, Diamandis has actually set pretty sizable goals for herself. The concept underpinning "Electra Heart" is that modern pop is all sound and style: highly intoxicating but grossly unsubstantial. Obviously, then, her plan is to recreate this mold, penning more lyrical intricacies (note how she still replaces some words with their ironic homonyms: "Idol" to "Idle", "Hypocrites" to "Hypocrates"), while paying no attention to the G-rated mass appeal boundaries that so many artists have followed since the new decade began. That sounds a lot like Lady Gaga's intentions with 2008's "The Fame", and there are even points where "Electra Heart" sounds like Lady Gaga. The principle difference between Gaga and Marina is that "The Fame" broke through the trappings of modern pop simply by making better pop music, pulling trends from the underground to show how deficient the mainstream was. Diamandis certainly tries to progress this notion, but she comes up a little short in trying to sell it. This is mostly at the fault of her collaborators, which include big-budget pop names like Dr. Luke, Cirkut, and Diplo, with further assistance from indie-pop darlings Rick Nowels and Greg Kurstin. Almost predictably, Dr. Luke and co. helm the stellar one-two punch of "Bubblegum Bitch" and "Primadonna", unabashed in their grand hooks and taunting swagger, while Kurstin and Nowels contribute the artsier, subtler "Valley of the Dolls" and "The State of Dreaming".
All four songs can stand on their own, but they don't necessarily hold up when placed in the same context.
Diamandis has so much fun with the idea of mocking pop that she ends up ceding some of her own quirkiness to it. This is no more apparent than in the middle part of "Electra Heart", when her tongue-in-cheek ambition and well worn pop practices don't click. She recovers quite well when "Teen Idle" regains the focus of the first half of the record. From here, she leads us to a thrilling conclusion when she coos in "Fear and Loathing": "Everyone's not out to screw you over/maybe they just want to get to know ya", bringing the humanistic elements of her music back to the forefront, where they really ought to stay. If "Electra Heart" remains a stylistic outlier, Diamandis would greatly benefit from more attention to the core elements of what made her a star in the first place. She's clearly at her best when she's making social commentary, examining the fundamentals of what it is to be human. When she gives her producers the reigns, they tend to smooth her out and turn daring concepts like "Living Dead" and "Power & Control" into boring and safe ones. But, even though there are missteps taken here, "Electra Heart" is too expertly crafted to simply be a sophomore slump. It's more like a step to the left; after showcasing Marina's indie-songwriter strengths in "The Family Jewels", "Electra Heart" serves to prove that she can do slick, shiny pop just as well. It may not win over Marina and the Diamonds indie purists, but those who wish to see another distinctly opposite side of the famously outlandish singer, there's plenty of opportunities here.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Bubblegum Bitch 2. Primadonna 3. Lies
4.
Homewrecker 5. Starring
Role 6. The State of
Dreaming
7. Power
& Control 8. Living
Dead 9. Teen Idle
10. Valley of
the Dolls 11.
Hypocrates 12.
Fear and Loathing
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