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Sam @SaminLillytown
"Marina's voice is sidelined, the lyrics are decent but not up to the poetic brilliance we are used to...in light of what Marina's capable of I can't help but want more."
I don't dislike Homewrecker just as I don't dislike any of Marina's work to this date. Only, when it's compared to other recent tracks it comes out lacking something. I think it's a little soulless compared to the instantly-relatable Starring Role and Living Dead, the brutally honest Fear & Loathing and the drama of Radioactive. Marina's voice is sidelined, the lyrics are decent but not up to the poetic brilliance we are used to being treated with, and all that's really left is a stomping beat. I love a stomping beat and Homewrecker is undeniably catchy and a real grower, but in light of what Marina's capable of I can't help but want more. Let me put it this way, if I had never heard of Marina before and I listened to this song, I would be impressed. However, because I know the stunning brilliance of Marina's past work and know she is way beyond impressive, I'm disappointed. Nevertheless, all the other songs I've heard from Electra Heart are just as good, if not better, than the best of The Family Jewels, so I remain positive.
Jack @JackKenny
It’s always a bit more magical when the first time you hear a song is live in concert. I felt this magic back in November 2009 when Marina Diamandis excitedly purred ‘this is a new song… it’s called Hollywood (my shaky camera-phone recording perfectly captures my genuine, audible awe at hearing ‘Actually, my name’s Marina’ for the first time). So when Ms. Diamandis decided to give out a track from the forthcoming Electra Heart album, I decided to wait a few days to hear it live at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush. Surrounded by dozens of die-hard Diamonds, whom I had met for the first time earlier that day but had been in regular Twitter contact with thanks to our mutual Marina appreciation, there was an almost tangible air of apprehension and anticipation, emanating from Marina herself, as she introduced Homewrecker… I was shocked, in a very good way. Homewrecker, in essence, is the perfect POP song: the Britney-esque sing-speak verses; the incredibly catchy chorus; the flawless vocals; all thrown together with some wonderfully cynical, yet terribly clever, words on love. Yes, gone is the Marina who once defied to ‘never write a song about love’, but this is not a love song, it’s an anti-love song. Marina tears up the idealistic image of love and shoves it back in our face to show us how vacuous and lonely our constant pursuit of love often is. It’s disheartening to see Diamonds misread Marina’s apparent irony in ‘Deception and perfection are wonderful traits/One will breed love, the other, hate’. Just like the ‘only after success’ persona of Oh No!, Marina voices a similarly ruthless, determined character who doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. She’s not talking about herself; she’s making a daring social commentary. It is, quite frankly, refreshing.
Jack @JackKenny
"Homewrecker, in essence, is the perfect POP song."
It’s always a bit more magical when the first time you hear a song is live in concert. I felt this magic back in November 2009 when Marina Diamandis excitedly purred ‘this is a new song… it’s called Hollywood (my shaky camera-phone recording perfectly captures my genuine, audible awe at hearing ‘Actually, my name’s Marina’ for the first time). So when Ms. Diamandis decided to give out a track from the forthcoming Electra Heart album, I decided to wait a few days to hear it live at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush. Surrounded by dozens of die-hard Diamonds, whom I had met for the first time earlier that day but had been in regular Twitter contact with thanks to our mutual Marina appreciation, there was an almost tangible air of apprehension and anticipation, emanating from Marina herself, as she introduced Homewrecker… I was shocked, in a very good way. Homewrecker, in essence, is the perfect POP song: the Britney-esque sing-speak verses; the incredibly catchy chorus; the flawless vocals; all thrown together with some wonderfully cynical, yet terribly clever, words on love. Yes, gone is the Marina who once defied to ‘never write a song about love’, but this is not a love song, it’s an anti-love song. Marina tears up the idealistic image of love and shoves it back in our face to show us how vacuous and lonely our constant pursuit of love often is. It’s disheartening to see Diamonds misread Marina’s apparent irony in ‘Deception and perfection are wonderful traits/One will breed love, the other, hate’. Just like the ‘only after success’ persona of Oh No!, Marina voices a similarly ruthless, determined character who doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. She’s not talking about herself; she’s making a daring social commentary. It is, quite frankly, refreshing.
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We have a lot more coming up about Marina (we're a little behind as we're on America-time), so be sure to make it back to Unapologetically POP this weekend for your fix.
Unapologetically,
Minna
