Critiques CD: Marina and the Diamonds | Electra Heart

Thank heavens we have fledgling pop stars to remind us that we live in a shallow world, and that chasing the American dream is such a vacuous aspiration. Welsh songstress Marina Diamandis, who admits to being simultaneously fascinated and repelled by American consumer culture, enlightens us on the matter by taking her prima donna pop tendencies to new heights on her second full length, Electra Heart. For this concept album, Diamandis introduces us to her titular “ruthless” character, giving the singer an outlet to perform this irony-slathered new material, inspired by the likes of Madonna, Marilyn Monroe and Marie Antoinette. Sadly, Marina loses herself in this overblown, convoluted endeavour, and the top-40 fare supplied by producers for hire Dr. Luke, Stargate and Diplo doesn’t help all those contrived musings on celebrity culture rise above the formulaic. Her husky pipes are often drowned out by generic thumps and effects, rendering her faux-vulnerability indistinguishable from so many other chart-chasing It Girls. In sum: unimaginative melodies + tired clichés about emotional emptiness and Hollywood adulation = tracks like “Homewrecker” (with its embarrassingly bad spoken word verses), the blasé “Bubblegum Bitch” and a string of forgettable ballads. A major letdown.