You can read our review of the first half of LOVE + FEAR here.

We’ve gotten the first half of Marina’s album LOVE + FEAR, which she released on April 4th. FEAR is the second half, and it’s finally here. A whole 16 tracks from Marina Diamandis to savor. She released snippets of “Life Is Strange”, ”Soft to be Strong” and “No More Suckers” last week via her Instagram, but we received no official singles from the FEAR portion.

With those statistics out of the way, let’s get into FEAR. We all went into LOVE knowing pretty much what to expect. We had four singles and, arguably, a lot more commentary from Marina herself regarding the album. Up until a few days ago, we had no reference point for what angle FEAR would come from, other than a title and a tracklist. I love both LOVE and FEAR pretty equally so far, but I think FEAR is the more surprising of the two.

When you listen to LOVE, it’s immediately clear what we’re walking into. That seemed to be the case with FEAR, too, judging by the first track “Believe in Love”. It sounds exactly like a song titled “Believe in Love” should sound right up until the bridge, which is where I also feel some of the title inspiration came from. She sings, “Shouldn’t take fear so seriously” – a total turnaround from what I assumed the album would be thematically. We celebrated love on LOVE, but we’re celebrating a lack of fear on FEAR.

I talked a bit in my first review about how relatable Marina’s lyricism is and FEAR is no different. We should be able to celebrate overcoming fear and doubt, and Marina has given us art that allows us to indulge in that. She writes a lot about society and she acknowledges that it’s fine to be fearful, as long as we don’t set up shop in that state of mind. I feel like that’s why she released LOVE alongside FEAR. She could’ve very easily released only one of the two and called it a day, but she wanted to draw that parallel. In this way, she’s like no other pop artist around.

If we’re keeping with the recent music news, we’ve got the new Taylor Swift song that’s literally called “ME!” and it’s about loving yourself and all that jazz. That’s all fine and good, and I’m not trying to dunk on T-Swift, but as far as modern pop goes, I feel like Marina is one of the only artists who intentionally turns the microscope back onto the world around us. She knows that individuals all have a part to play in making the world turn, and she’s not shy about reminding her listeners of that.

Stand out tracks for me are definitely “Karma” for it’s fun vibe (as well as her trademark ‘talk while you sing’ deal), “Emotional Machine” for the lyrical rawness and (again!) relatability, and “Soft to Be Strong” because of how it ends the album so poignantly. As you all know I pay close attention to how an album flows, and the transition from the end of “Soft to Be Strong” back into “Handmade Heaven” is *chef’s kiss*.

So suffice it to say, I love Marina’s new album in its entirety. The production value perfectly encapsulates what Marina has done before but brings a new, refreshed spin on it. She’s only grown stronger lyrically and I’m so glad she’s back with us. LOVE + FEAR is another beautiful testament to Marina Diamandis’ genius.

4.5/5

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.