Just getting round to listening to this album finally and I can state without reservations that this is the most enjoyable cut of pop that I have heard since Alphabeat released two fantastic singles back in 2008. This album however has a bit more depth than Alphabeat's EP and teeters quivering on the cusp between full out pop and a sort of operatic lunacy - ala Kate Bush as has been said many times before. Marina's voice is however far deeper and possibly slightly more limited than Kate Bush but the beautifully crafted pop gems (diamonds if you will) really pop off the album like bubblewrap for the unhinged. A driedel like rhythm and chunky bass line on the track 'Girls' adds some welcome momentum to the post-feminist sniping of the track, which should be coarse but does enough to endear itself to the listener.
The next stand out track is 'Hermit the Frog' which builds up in a curious fashion indeed, almost layered like a great Rammstein song - slow and sonorous into militaristic drums and an epic finale. The track then decides to dice up this seriousness with a finish that is certainly more Girls Aloud than should be acceptable. Everyone should know the opening single by now - 'Hollywood' is the most obviously striking track on the album but does begin to wear on multiple listens - whether this will become a faded charm for me could determine how much I hear that infectious chorus!
The laughable comparison cliche of 'I am not a robot' could easily have tanked itself under the burden of that terrible title yet....the bathos and humour soon ease you into a friendliness with the song, the lyrics 'You're lovable, so lovable, but you're just trouble' communicate all that sad inevitability so effectively that I couldn't help but be won over by it. Standout track 'Mowgli's Road' does really push hard on all the crazy-as-a-badger buttons but some back to basics harmonising and jumping drumlines juxtapose perfectly to create spinetingling moments throughout the just over 3 minute duration. 'Numb' has a different quality, a look at Marina's psychology which is oddly grandiose and operatic yet this mixture seems to work again and again and as one of the most telling creations here I found its 4:17 length to be perfect for a verse-chorus-verse number.
This album then really does stride the line between queasy obviousness and giving a huge sexy wink at the listener. It is a triumph then for a sound that flirts heavily with pop music whilst mocking it and unashamedly building a temple to it. As a revival of classic pop strokes and the introduction of a new voice to the music landscape I can't help but feel wowed by it - its tremendously exciting and sexy to listen to. I am fast in danger of becoming a huge fan.
