The Family Jewels

Marina Diamandis and her ‘band’

Marina Diamandis, born in Wales and now residing in London, is a very young rock-music performer working in the frames of a project called Marina & The Diamonds. Just like Florence & The Machine, Marina & The Diamonds is only formally a musical outfit. In its essence, it’s Marina’s project backed up by the ensemble The Diamonds who, as a matter of fact, only materialize the ideas created by Marina. Nowadays, such a form of collaboration is getting more and more popular and efficient. The project under question has already risen to a particular prominence; and if Marina carries on working with the same encouragement, the scope of this popularity will only grow. The wide audience got the chance to come to know Marina & The Diamonds in 2009 after the release of their amazing single Obsessions. In December, Marina was placed second in the rating of the most promising performers according to BBC. Critics and listeners could not but respect this artist’s song-writing skills as she did not fear to experiment both with lyrics and music. Her debut album, The Family Jewels, hit the stores in February 2010, which certainly is a pleasant and intriguing moment for followers of rock-music.

Many-faceted nature of The Family Jewels

The CD of The Family Jewels features thirteen compositions, mostly penned by Marina herself. It is opened by the fascinating Are You Satisfied? The rock presence becomes less tangible as track number two, Shampain, gets under way. It turns out that Marina & The Diamonds are just as good playing electro-pop. It is followed by I Am Not A Robot, a piano-led track. Along with the single Obsessions, this piece reveals to the listener a softer, lyrical, side of Marina’s creativity. After a less colorful song, Girls, you will get to, arguably, the most smashing hit of the whole album, Mowgli’s Road. Everything here is done in the top manner, from the lines about cutlery to the music itself with ‘voices’ of wild animals. The second half of The Family Jewels appears equally powerful, yet less optimistic. You will feel it through the slowed down tempos and the lyrics. Rootless is a desperate person’s cry about the inability to disclose own feelings and thoughts. Guilty goes even further as it contains lines about burying fragments of a human body in the dark.

A perfect start for Marina & The Diamonds

Although both the project Marina & The Diamonds itself and the first long player, The Family Jewels, are vividly oriented at a public as wide as possible, thus doomed to bear pop-associated labels, their debut work has some features that are not characteristic of pop-music. Firstly, this is Marina Diamandis’ wide range of activities as she is equally good at writing and performing. You are likely to read and hear much more about the lyrics of this album and its followers. Secondly, it is the content of the record itself. It is very often that albums even by the most established pop-music artists have tracks that are easy to name future hits, and, if you please, the so-called other songs. When it comes to The Family Jewels, all the thirteen compositions are interesting and unique. It might even be that they are too diverse, which affects their harmony and stylistic uniformity. It could be explained by the debut nature of The Family Jewels; and Marina is still in the process of seeking the best solutions to her music. It is interesting that whatever direction she tried for her further growth, all the thirteen attempts are successful, albeit to different degrees. Let us, then, congratulate Marina & The Diamonds on a start as powerful as this one!