MARINA - Electra Heart sync & general chat

E.V.O.L. is the absolute tits - again, big stompy glam rhythm (which, alongside the swearing, is probably why it was bumped for the less-bleak Homewrecker), great vocal, fun lyrics, absolute banger.
 
E.V.O.L. is the absolute tits - again, big stompy glam rhythm (which, alongside the swearing, is probably why it was bumped for the less-bleak Homewrecker), great vocal, fun lyrics, absolute banger.
it and Homewrecker both making the cut would've been too much. I think they made the right call. it's a fun glam stomper but the chorus isn't quite there

10 How to Be a Heartbreaker
10 Radioactive
08.5 Sex Yeah
09.5 Buy the Stars
08 Lonely Hearts Club
07.5 EVOL
 
For a title track, this is seriously anti-climactic. I think this was only issued on YouTube, come the hour. It sounds unfinished.
it definitely missed the cut for a reason. a cute theme song, but I guess once she had Bubblegum Bitch in the bag, no title track was necessary

10 Bubblegum Bitch
11 Primadonna
09 Lies
08 Homewrecker
09 Starring Role
08.5 The State of Dreaming
10.5 Power & Control
08 Living Dead
11 Teen Idle
10 Valley of the Dolls
10 Hypocrates
09 Fear & Loathing

10 How to Be a Heartbreaker
10 Radioactive
08.5 Sex Yeah
09.5 Buy the Stars
08 Lonely Hearts Club
07.5 EVOL
06 Electra Heart

9.13/10. QUEEN.
 
12 Bubblegum Bitch
12 Primadonna
10 Lies
10 Homewrecker
08 Starring Role
10 The State of Dreaming
10 Power & Control
10 Living Dead
10 Valley of the Dolls
08 Hypocrates
10 Fear & Loathing

12 How to Be a Heartbreaker
12 Radioactive
10 Sex Yeah
12 Buy the Stars
07 Lonely Hearts Club
08 EVOL
06 Electra Heart
 
Electra Heart was never my Marina fave so I'm really glad to have reappraised it in the last year or so and found so much to love alongside the eternal classics like Teen Idle and Primadonna.

she is a phenomenal artiste.
 
I have had the most stressful day. decided I will try to get a ticket for Marina tonight. spent the whole day on ticketswap but every time a ticket came up some asshole was quicker than me. then at 4 my friend found one for me. decided to have a cheeky after work drink and missed 3 consecutive trains. BUT I am now en route to see THE QUEEN!
 
so I had a hectic weekend and didn't get around to it but I didn't wanna forget.mp3 to come thru with the review :disco:

I saw her twice on the last tour but this time felt like a different kind of experience. out with the dancers who didn't quite work, in with a live band. quite a minimal show with no costume changes (who needs them when you serve that hard with your one lewk?), so not a production in any sense. just Marina commanding a stage. which is great because fuck, this woman can command a stage! I mean!!!

the opening act was relentless. lights on, Marina enters, straight into with Ancient Dreams, followed by Venus Fly Trap. both popped off and the crowd (very young, pretty diverse, all religiously into Marina) was into it. then into Froot. Froot is such a fucking moment every time. a truly loved song and she clearly knows it's one of her best. (she has excellent instincts about her own music I feel, maybe also reflecting why this show is so Electra Heart / TFJ heavy - but more on that later.)

Man's World next, which had the feel to me of an instinct classic in how the crowd was living. a massive singalong. a most enthusiastic crowd :disco: I actually went hoping to meet friends but they were front row having queued since 2pm (!) so I was surrounded by strangers which was weirdly quite an enjoyable experience at a show like this. I could just lose myself.

she did four songs from TFJ and Oh No! was a massive highlight




Purge the Poison doesn't seem that loved generally (?), but thankfully she performed the shit out of it. I love that song and think it stands among her earlier bangers... To Be Human was the only song from Love + Fear, which maybe says a lot. NO BREATHERS at all in the show's first half, just one after another. she talked a bit and said her dad was at the show and had brought Greek, Welsh and Ukranian flags, which was cute, but it was mostly relentless. when she did Happy I did wonder if she was slowing things down...

but she just did one verse and chorus and then :o went straight into Forget. WHICH WAS A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE! I've adored that song for so long and seeing it done in full was epic. again the crowd knew every word which WARMED MY GAY HEART! I was next to a cutie also just in his feelings and I thought: husband material :D then she did Teen Idle which obviously had everyone SCREAMING and HYSTERICAL at the opening line. I mean please believe me when I say I SIMPLY DIED! there and then! maybe it was the arrangement or the band but it felt a bit less stripped back and more of a FULL ON BANGER and yes it might be her very best song.

20220512-220418-01.jpg


the last segment was really Electra Heart heavy - Heartbreaker and Bubblegum Bitch, and for the encore Goodbye and Primadonna. she definitely knows how enduringly popular this album is and has come to embrace it. she should do a 10th anniversary show for it. all were massive moments, How to Be a Heartbreaker really feels like THE #1 THAT NEVER WAS (except in the alt realities of myself and miss @Suedey). Goodbye with Marina at the piano was just what we deserved. serving serious vocals! for Bubblegum Bitch she sang "welcome to the life of..." and let the crowd scream ELECTRA HEART!!! which was essentially gay rights.




apologies for literally writing an academic essay but I needed to get this shit down in writing. I'm SO HAPPY I did this on a whim and didn't miss out, because it really affirmed for me that she's one of the best popstars around. she has pop in her blood and lives for performing and loves her back catalogue AND THAT PLEASES ME! also, she said the new album is being written and is "very different from this one", so I don't know what to expect but I need something soon! keep me fed, goddess!

tl;dr - phenomenal show from my queen :disco:
 
Last edited:
I agree with a lot of your review @Jark! I went to her Edinburgh gig last night and she was PHENOMONAL (the venue was far too hot though several people fainting). I wanted I'm A Ruin & Blue but apart from those emissions the setlist was perfect. I was shook at how young everyone was . I was 18 when Family Jewels came out and thought the crowd would be full of people my age but a lot of teens there with their mums :D

Teen Idle & Purge The Poision highlights!
 
Got last minute tickets for the Brixton Academy show tonight and it was like going to the church of Marina. Simply brilliant! All killer, no filler and some of the tracks from the new album seemed to be better received than some of her older stuff, which surprised me (as good as they are!). Purge The Poison went off in Brixton @Jark

A shame to hear no Blue, Obsessions, I'm A Ruin or Mowgli's Road, but when you have a back catalogue this good, there are always going to be some disappointments. Are You Satisfied on the other hand was a pleasant surprise! Also sad to hear she has parted ways with her record label and what this could mean. She seemed excited about being an independent artist from this point, but I'm not sure what (if any) impact this will have on the next project.
 
Got last minute tickets for the Brixton Academy show tonight and it was like going to the church of Marina.
yes! :disco: exactly this.

I actually thought she was independent already with Ancient Dreams. not sure what impact this will have, but hopefully not too much.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom