FROOT. Released: 2014 - 2015
Album art: Atlantic Records.
After a long journey through time, covering all her past works, we finally come to Marina's latest album (as of now), that goes by the name of Froot! This album starts off with a song that is one of my personal favorites, Happy. It is a song that gives everything that we've known about Marina, until now, a very beautiful closure. Like a fan rightly said in one of the comments in the next video, "She used to write sad songs with a happy melody, now she writes happy songs with a sad melody and it's still beautiful." - How perfectly put!
Happy, is about that feeling of complete satisfaction, where one feels like they finally belong somewhere. No words could ever do justice to how the song feels when you're actually feeling, happy. I think this was the time when Marina finally found someone, or something, she could be in love with completely, without any inhibitions.
The next song, which also happens to be the name of the album, Froot, is a very colorful piece. Now Marina has spoken about how this song isn't about sex, but the lyrics suggest otherwise. Either way, the song has some really amazing beats; And if it does compare sexy times with fruity metaphors, it ends up doing a great job at that. "I've been saving all my summers for you, like Froot." and "Baby I'm plump and ripe." Damn. Marina's extremely husky, seductive, and an elegant lady-like voice gives this song an extra oomph factor. Froot was the first song from the album to be released for the fans all over the world.
I'm a Ruin is another lovely song. I think many go through what Marina seems to go through in this song. The feeling of being someone who ends up ruining other people's lives, not on purpose though, of course. Don't we all justify of how we do so, and why, anyway? "Babe I'm going to ruin you, if you let me stay." "You still mean everything to me, but I wanna be free." I think this has a lot to do with how someone feels like being free from relationships, because of not wanting to be the one who ends up ruining the other person. "But I don't wanna say goodbye." Oh, life does get confusing.
My other very favorite song from the album, Blue, is a happy go lucky song. No, not like Happy, which was a very serious song, this one's more playful in nature. It's got some cute beats, and a lovely dance sequence by our Marina. Even though she talks about something that might be considered sad, it's a light-hearted number and she seems more optimistic here. Check out the video!
Forget is more towards the serious side, once again. "I have lived my life in debt, yeah I've spent my days in deep regret." And she'd like to forget it all, forgive, and forget. In Gold, Marina reveals that she's been wrong about what she wanted all along. I think this song gives away this fact that yes, Marina has certainly changed from her first few song releases and earlier albums. She now believes that gold, or something precious, like fame, perhaps money, or love, is not what she thought it was, earlier. She believes there's much more to everything that she had been striving for. Gold, or those things that she wanted, can't be bought, nor can they be sold. Does this mean that she, heart of heart, isn't someone who is materialistic? Probably. That's what I think anyway (Ya, right. Who am I kidding. She's materialistic as fuck). The next song is very similar to what she could have shared in The Family Jewels. The song Can't Pin Me Down has similar colors to how she doesn't care about the world, as long as she is satisfied with what she's doing, something Marina always stood for. "I'm never gonna to give you anything you expect." I don't think anyone could ever pin her down.
I cannot completely describe my feelings on what I think about Solitaire. The lyrics are pretty self explanatory, and there is a metaphor here where Marina is comparing herself to a solitaire. Rare, who doesn't want to be compared with cheap shimmer and glitter.
"Hard like a rock, cold like stone,
White like a diamond, black like coal,
Cut like a jewel, yeah I repair,
Myself when you're not there."
The song speaks a lot of what goes in one's mind when they feel like wanting to be left alone. When the crave silence over the chaos that surrounds us. And it's not necessarily a bad thing. A lovely song by Marina, and another gem from this album, in my opinion.
Better Than That is a light song that basically deals with three people. Perhaps a love triangle? She compares an unwanted history that keeps re-surfing in her thoughts, to weed in a garden, in the song called, Weeds. You cut them at the root, she thinks, and that's what she tries to do with her history. At the same time, she can't do it with ease. She remembers everything about her past, as it isn't really easy to let go of times when you've felt good.
The last two songs in this album are quite philosophical. In Savages, Marina talks about how everything is all about the survival of the fittest. Where people are not afraid of war, or murder, metaphorically, only to survive. "It's a human trait, hidden deep inside of our DNA.", she says, "I'm not afraid of God, I am afraid of man.". The chorus goes something like this,
"Underneath it all, we're just savages,
Hidden behind shirts, ties and marriages,
Truth is in us all, cradle to the grave,
We're just animals still learning to behave."
It's the bridge that sums up what she's trying to suggest though,
"All the hate coming out from a generation,
Who got everything, and nothing guided by temptation,
Were we born to abuse, shoot a gun and run,
Or has something deep inside of us come undone?
Is it a human trait, or is it learned behavior?
Are you killing for yourself, or killing for your savior?"
Finally, in the last song, Immortal, Marina talks about being so, and how reserving a space in history, is such an important part of the human race. She says she's chasing after time, but everybody dies. Still, if everything does end, earth and the seas, there's one thing she believes that will survive. The memories she'd share with the ones she loves, and the memories they would have, of her. The song is extremely pessimistic, but she knows that love is a powerful thing, and the only thing that matters, in the end. The song, and hence the album, ends with her chanting, "So keep me alive." She could be saying this to anyone, her fans, her lovers, or to show everyone that the last plea uttered from anyone, is something that gives them the hope of still being alive, even after they are long gone.
Now that we have covered all her albums, we can see how Marina, as an artist, has grown over the years. The image of herself that she gave us in the three albums, speak volumes of what she might be going through with, in her life at that time. From someone wanting to make her name, to someone who just wanted to experiment and have fun, and finally, to someone who seems to be wanting to settle down, in search of answers to questions that demand stability, and a deeper meaning of what life is all about. I can only imagine what Marina will share with us in her future works.
Till then, here's the Holy Trinity.
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This finishes my set of blog posts about my queen, Marina, from Marina and the Diamonds. I wonder if anyone is ever going to read them. If you have, thanks for sticking around!