Marina
Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land

New album, new chapter for the Welsh singer, who returns shortly after her last studio effort ("Love + Fear" is only from 2019) with renewed energy and inspiration, and, we must admit, quite unexpectedly. The result is Marina's best album (formerly "and the Diamonds" for less frequent listeners) since "The Family Jewels": with "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land," the irreverence and grit of her beginnings return, which, although logically filtered by the singer's increased age and artistic maturity, were decidedly absent in previous works; and if in "Froot," an album with a dreamlike aftertaste, this was acceptable, in "Love + Fear," despite some good tracks, it ended up rendering everything colorless and anonymous, and the production certainly didn't help.

Here, however, the sonic choices are much more interesting, and the average quality of the tracks is significantly higher: it starts off strong with the title track, a dialogue with Mother Nature halfway between mocking and disenchanted on a compelling rhythm, garnished with synthesizers and angelic falsettos, followed by a trio of singles that get stuck in your head and refuse to leave, without sacrificing intelligent and well-considered writing (as in "Venus Fly Trap," where the line between verse and chorus is so thin that the entire piece ends up being a three-minute hook). It's a shame that in the second part, the album loses a bit of its edge, but the problem is not so much with the individual tracks as with their distribution: after four spicy songs, it suddenly shifts to a series of ballads that unfortunately slow down the tracklist's pace too abruptly, but it's a venial sin that can be overlooked, given the overall brevity of the setlist. Moreover, as already mentioned, the tracks themselves are all more than valid: "Highly Emotional People," accompanied by a delicate piano, is a touching examination of the human psyche opening up to emotions, "Pandora’s Box" injects delicate electronic beats into the cracks of an already fractured relationship, and the closing "Goodbye," with its vocal ups and downs, is the closest thing to the theatricality of Diamandis' beginnings since "Electra Heart," contrasting notably with the instrumental minimalism of the previous "Flowers."

However, while the songs are all very good, the same cannot be said for the singer's pen, so damn effective and surgical when discussing human emotions and psychology (and it's no surprise, considering that for Marina, the alternative to a non-burgeoning music career would have been studying the subject), but not as incisive when trying to delve into current affairs: the anti-sexist rant of "Man’s World" works in its simplicity, but already in "Purge the Poison," despite some beautiful verses, it shoots at everything and everyone in a fairly harmless manner, and even "New America," inspired by the 2020 movements against ethnic discrimination, doesn't hit the target as it should and would like to. The production is also improvable, which this time makes the album homogeneous without being overly monotonous, thanks in part to some well-chosen arrangement choices, but continues to have the flaw of softening the edges too much, especially in the voice, which would further enhance the entire ensemble.

No matter, anyway, as, all things considered, "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land" remains a successful return to form for Marina Diamandis, as well as a happy confirmation of how, with the right creative inputs, she is still one of the most eclectic and unique personalities and voices in contemporary pop, with a career ahead that can still be promising for interesting artistic developments.

Now we also eagerly await the hiring of a competent graphic designer for the album covers. No, because it's been hit or miss from the start, and frankly, it's a shame.