The Electra Heart of Marina and the Diamonds

If you are looking for a classic album that in 10 years you will still love and give you the chills then -Electra Heart- is the one for you. Believe me when I say that, just like there are cult movies...there are cult albums.

Electra Heart is the second studio album by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, professionally known as Marina and the Diamonds. It was released on 27 April 2012 by 679 Artists and Atlantic Records. Diamandis collaborated with producers including Liam Howe, Greg Kurstin, Dr. Luke, Diplo, and StarGate during its recording, and subsequently transitioned from the new wave musical styles seen throughout her debut studio album The Family Jewels (2010). 

Their efforts resulted in a concept album inspired by electropop music, a distinct departure from her earlier projects; its lyrical content is united by the topics of love and identity. Diamandis created the titular character "Electra Heart" to represent female archetypes of stereotypical American culture.

The concept behind Electra Heart it’s brilliant, Marina did what I always wanted my favorite singer and groups do for an album. She actually created a concept for the whole album, I don’t mean just a pretty package for the CD but each songs talk about the types of transitions people go through when the heartbreak door hit us straight to the face.

In fact, Marina decided to release 11 music videos (of an album of  13 songs ) during the promotion of Electra Heart, Being the most successful one:  Primadonna Girl.  Each video was uploaded every 3 months which created great expectations and excitement with fans. This videos were strategically chosen to tell the story of a person who goes to a breakup. In this case, Marina personifies a woman who goes from a romantic state to a disheartened state. The aesthetics to the concept of the album was taken from the 50's and 60's and mixed with modern pieces to give Marina and the album a classic yet singular/twisted style.

She must shed her identity as someone’s girlfriend and must find her true identity again. For this purpose, she must dress up, she must be rebellious, she must try out what the world has to offers, she should be cynical about love, and then wake up of the fantastic idea of a perfect world and finally, after her great journey she will have to face her pain and reality dealing with it the best way she can.

Her music is eclectic-pop-electric-deep and honest. I can not see in Marina Diamandis any trace of falsehood and hypocrisy. Nice to hear and see a woman who is not afraid to say that a feminist can show her tenderness and sensuality without being fragile. ♡

The creation of her characters and their stories were smart, not only from a creative and commercial point of view but because it talk about the self-imposed or imposed archetypes that women often get trapped in. We might look or be like one of the women showed in one of the Electra Heart videos but, it certainly doesn't mean we have to stay the same and play the part forever.

Music critics were divided in their opinions of Electra Heart, expressing ambivalence towards Diamandis' shift in musical style and its overall production. The record debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 21,358 copies. In doing so, it became Diamandis' first chart-topping record there, although it was then distinguished as the lowest-selling number-one record of the 21st century in the country. The project was eventually certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry for exceeding shipments of 60,000 units. Electra Heart performed moderately on international record charts, including a peak position at number 31 on the US Billboard 200, and became Diamandis' highest-charting project in the United States.