UPDATE: You can read our review of FEAR here.

Last year, I talked a little bit in an article about chasing away winter about my intense love for Marina and the Diamonds. Last year, we had no clue that something was going on with Marina Diamandis, as she had been silent since 2015’s Froot. In the fall though, she released a song with Clean Bandit called “Baby” (which is an absolute bop) and we all noticed something. We had Marina back, but where were her Diamonds? Well, she took the opportunity of three years away to rebrand herself, and now she’s only Marina. What hasn’t changed, though, is the heart and soul she puts into the music she creates.

Her latest offering, LOVE is part one of a two part album, LOVE + FEAR. She gave no intention that she was going to release them separately, but she tweeted on April 4th that, “[She] created ‘LOVE + FEAR’ as 2 separate records to be listened to individually. I’m releasing ‘LOVE’ today so you can listen to in full before we move onto ‘FEAR’.” So we got four singles (the first four tracks in the listing) and then four totally new tracks in this first wave of new Marina music, and then we’ll get another eight on April 26th.

Each track on the album seems to come from a very personal place for Marina. She’s coming off of a pretty long hiatus, and adding that to the fact that her reasoning for taking a break was the fact that she felt like she was losing herself amidst the touring and constant production, it’s safe to say that she would want to be intentional with the first project she releases. She’s been intentional with every release, but for some reason this album feels bigger than anything she’s embarked on before.

When she released “Baby” with Clean Bandit, I assumed it was just a one-off. Only when I saw the tracklisting did I realise she would use it for the album. I feel like she recorded this as a way to let off some steam. The album is pretty heavy from a lyrical perspective, and “Baby” is a good way to remind us that Marina’s here because she loves making music and wants it to be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved – especially herself.

Though I didn’t know it then, Marina would become a staple in my queue because of the activism she aims to spark. She’s not crazy and totally in your face, but I’ve always seen her music as more than just bubblegum pop. I could name a track from each of her albums that inspires thought from the listener. For LOVE, I would say that there are several. “Enjoy Your Life” is about being mindful and positive even when things seem mundane, “True” is about self esteem, and “To Be Human” is (in my opinion) a companion track to “Savages” from Froot.

If this is LOVE, I can only wonder what we can expect from FEAR. Even when Marina sings about the harder part of life, she wraps it in a musical soundscape that draws us together, making us enjoy using these finer processes of thought. We all see how messed up the world can be, and I believe Marina’s message upon her return is banding together and figuring out how to change. It can start with only one person, and that’s something to be celebrated.

by Nadia Paiva

Nadia Paiva has been a music enthusiast since she can remember. Going to shows is her main pastime. The other is being upset when she can’t go to shows. This is her first official venture into writing about music. You can follow her on Twitter.