Album Review: MARINA Becomes Her Own Self-Fulfilled Prophecy on ‘Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land’

Despite scattering a handful of confident clichés throughout its 36-minute glory, MARINA’s mature fifth studio album marries social commentary and break-up blues beautifully. 

Written by Heather Stewart

Photo courtesy of COUGHS

The 35-year-old singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis is no stranger to reinventing herself. Formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds (and referred to as Electra Heart after her second album of the same name in 2012), Diamandis has embraced a new era of cohesive artistry as MARINA since her 2019 release, Love + Fear. The Welsh songstress proved her music’s distinctiveness from the pop status quo right off the bat with 2010’s The Family Jewels, her lyrically ambiguous and uniquely vulnerable debut album that at times received criticism for a perceived lack of thematic and musical consistency. Since the record’s release, Diamandis has continued refining her sound with each body of work she's released. Like fine wine, her musicality and lyrics have become more palatable and less cryptic overtime, although it's hard not to long for the quirky, abstract depth of her earliest works that initially made her stand out from mainstream pop artists.

Diamandis’ latest release, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, pairs a curated balance of colorful, fast-paced instrumentals with pensive lyrics and slower emotional tracks that feature angelic vocals and emotive piano. The dichotomy of this album is in line with the dark pop sound, social critique, and emotional spillage of the singer-songwriter’s earlier albums. Similar to Love + Fear, however, the record features the more frank songwriting approach that came with her new stage name. Although Diamandis hasn’t lost her schmaltzy writing style, she has reached a deep level of self-assurance that’s prevalent on even the most woeful Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land tracks.

The whimsical title track opens the album with a new age, almost spiritual approach to the world’s problems, which Diamandis elaborates on later in the record. The song juggles danceability and existentialism with ease: an '80s synth cadences beneath the singer's sultry vocals as she expresses a priority for self-reflection over societal conformity. The singer hypnotically lilts, “I am not my body, not my mind or my brain (Ha!) / Not my thoughts or feelings, I am not my DNA.” Spiritual awakening on the dance floor, anyone? 

The extremely catchy “Venus Fly Trap” has the same melodiously addicting musicality and bold-faced, individualistic sentiments as the title track. Diamandis proclaims, “Whatever you give life, you will get back / Why be a wallflower when you can be a Venus fly trap” over bright keys and a syncopated beat. Once again, blatant non-conformity is a theme, except this time it’s in reference to the entertainment industry. Revealing that money or fame never motivated her, Diamandis proves that Hollywood didn’t infect her brain, although she does take a moment to flaunt the millionaire status she earned despite doing things her own way. (Talk about a well-deserved flex!) She praises herself over staccatoed notes, “I got the beauty, got the brains / Got the power, hold the reins.” This song is not only a big f-ck you to naysayers who wanted her to fit into the mold of the music world, but it’s an anthem for self-empowerment in the face of conflicting societal ideals.

Image courtesy of Atlantic Records 

While the first few tracks focus more on Diamandis’ personal life, she does not shy away from making political statements. In the heavenly piano ballad “Man’s World,” the art pop darling sings about the femme experience in operatic vocals: “Cheeks are rosy like a Boucher cherub / I’m a strawberry soda, raise my lashes to heaven / Stars in my hair running like a waterfall / Clouds in the whites of our eyes, we saw it all.” But aside from these lyrics, the song conveys a pretty basic feminist message, as Diamandis ends with a plea for society to not punish those who aren’t men. It’s a good message, but it doesn’t feel as fresh or creatively addressed as in her other feminst tracks like 2015’s “Can't Pin Me Down,” in which Diamandis intricately tackles stereotypes placed on women.

The bouncy, high-powered “Purge the Poison” feels similarly shallow, but its upbeat guitar, punchy drums, melodic background vocals, and relevant message make it hard to keep the song off repeat. Diamandis navigates all kinds of issues: quarantine, misogyny, racism, capitalism, war, natural disasters, and sexual assault. Although these are all hot topics worthy of discussion, the track lacks the depth required to make wave-making, unique commentary on these heavy themes. But what keeps the song from feeling completely cliché is that most of it is sung from the perspective of Mother Nature, who warns humanity to stop the spread of corruption. The socially savvy musician does embrace more specific call-outs in “New America,” a critique of the United States. While this song is definitely uncharacteristic of her usual, more broad sociological perspective, perhaps she now feels confident enough to use her platform and privilege to address pertinent issues even if they don’t directly affect her. While her political remarks in other tracks from the album feel like borderline white feminism, the singer adds depth to her perspective in the song by addressing white colonizers’ theft of Indigenous peoples’ land ("They’ve got blood on their hands / ‘Cause they stole all the land”), police brutality, and white privilege (“And when you see the police, there’s no reason to run”).

Photo courtesy of Press

The rest of the tracks on Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land are the most tear-jerking and raw, as they most likely allude to Diamandis’ five-year relationship with Clean Bandit’s Jack Batterson that ended earlier this year. “Pandora’s Box” reveals the deep pain Diamandis endured after being cheated on: “You opened up Pandora’s box / You don’t know what you just unlocked / I lose all control / Let go of my darkest thoughts / ‘Cause I see the truth we were stacked against the odds / And I pray that hope’s not lost.” The fluttery piano on “Flowers” tugs at listeners’ heart strings, accompanying the sorrowful lyrics that address the painful ‘what-ifs’ that come with loss. Diamandis expresses her grievances, crooning, “With every careless action, you let me slip away / If you just bought me flowers, maybe I would’ve stayed / You didn’t think I was serious, I guess you felt so safe.” In the deeply emotional closer, “Goodbye,” the singer passionately belts, “Goodbye to the girl that I was / Goodbye to the girl that you lost / I will never be yours again / Never wanted our love to end / Goodbye, my friend.” She’s parting ways with her past relationship, but also her past self.

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land proves that MARINA won’t ever stay stagnant in her music. “The way I write isn’t conceptual anymore,” Diamandis told Vogue in a 2020 interview. “It’s just what’s happening at that moment in time.” While the topics in her latest album feel uncharacteristically mainstream, MARINA still manages to hide Easter eggs of her eccentric sound, celestial soprano vocals, and abstract poetic lyrics that OG Diamonds know and love her for throughout the album.