Review: The Family Jewels

The Family Jewels - Marina and the Diamonds (2010)

Hmph. Another one I've been holding off. I think I've just come to the conclusion that reviewing Music isn't my forté - people like to read about bad music, and I only review things that I listen to. I should have reviewed this album around the same time as The Defamation of Strickland Banks and Eliza Doolittle, but I just couldn't make myself do it.
      True, Marina Lambrini Diamandis has a unique take on pop music that makes it a little difficult to review on casual listenings. Her improvisational and often absurd methodology seems to have cultivated a more sincere and honest album than most of the things on the modern market, and yet it's never boring. Surprise always lies behind the next corner as her highly charged and spontaneous lyricisms present a convincing image of modern life.
     What amazes me, perhaps more than anything, is the subtlty with which Marina throws across many of her worries about the modern world while still producing what, at first glance, look like perfectly average pop songs; "Hollywood" is the perfect of this, a biting satire of the eponymous industry. The song that really stands out for me, however, is "Obsessions," an emotive ballad with absurd lyrics that serves not only as a pessimistic love song, but also as an attack on the modern perception of celebrity and brand.
     The Family Jewels is one of those marvelous albums that appeals to both the general and specialist markets - catchy pop songs with absurd lyrics, coupled with satire and an ever-present emotional vein. Diamandis, as a musical outsider, has given her own take on that world and of the world around us. A good listen and a gem of 2010.


Thanks.