Artist
Marina & The Diamonds
Why we feature this artist A pop character with doubts of her own Marina and the Diamonds was the original recording name of Marina Diamandis, whose voice can turn a pop song into a small dramatic scene. A line may sound grand, amused or openly anxious, someti…
- From
- United Kingdom
- Sound
- indie pop, new wave, synth-pop, dance-pop
- Active
- 2005–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Marina & The Diamonds
Why we feature this artist
A pop character with doubts of her own
Marina and the Diamonds was the original recording name of Marina Diamandis, whose voice can turn a pop song into a small dramatic scene. A line may sound grand, amused or openly anxious, sometimes before the verse has finished. The theatricality works because a recognisable person keeps showing through it.
The first set of contradictions
The Family Jewels in 2010 introduced “Hollywood”, “Oh No!” and a wider group of songs concerned with ambition, identity and the pressure to become an image. The arrangements moved between piano-led writing and brightly edged alternative pop, with Diamandis’s phrasing giving the material an unmistakable accent.
Electra Heart in 2012 made the constructed character central. “Primadonna” and “How to Be a Heartbreaker” use large electronic-pop gestures while the writing keeps examining the roles being performed. The polished surface is part of the subject rather than proof that the underlying singer has disappeared.
Finding another form of directness
Froot in 2015 brought a more unified songwriter-led album setting, with the title track, “Happy” and other songs allowing the voice to move through different kinds of confidence and uncertainty. Later releases under the simpler MARINA name continued the same interest in identity through changing musical frames.
The first three albums make the strongest introduction because the reinventions remain easy to follow. The arrangements change, but the central pleasure stays in the vocal choices: a slightly exaggerated phrase, a sudden plain line or a note held just long enough to make the character feel human.
Essential releases
The Family Jewels
The first distinctive mix of theatrical singing and sharply observed alternative pop.
Electra Heart
A constructed pop persona becomes the frame for a wider emotional argument.
Froot
A more unified, songwriter-led statement with the vocal personality fully intact.