Marina Diamandis, formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds, is notable for her musical reinventions.
Each ‘era’ of her music carries a unique sound and aesthetic, from the sugary-sweet sadcore of alter-ego Electra Heart (2012), to the confident pop vibrancy of her most recent record Love + Fear (2019), which saw Marina work with collaborators including ex-boyfriend and Clean Bandit member, Jack Patterson.
It seems that the upcoming album, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, will be no exception. Released in November, lead single ‘Man’s World’ revealed an artist delving deeper into the issues she first explored in such tracks as ‘Savages’ and ‘To Be Human’; primarily, how humans are wrecking the planet through environmental damage, and specifically, the intersectionality of the climate crisis as it relates to the patriarchy.
‘Purge the Poison’ continues this theme, portraying the climate crisis from Mother Nature’s point of view. On 14 April, Marina released the single and accompanying music video, meanwhile revealing the album’s title, cover and release date of 11 June.
Taking the patriarchy to task
‘Purge The Poison’ is unashamedly feminist in theme. Marina describes a kind of sisterhood where she and her friends are “quietly reforming” and “protecting the planet”. “Corrupt[ion]” and “poison” is associated with the male, while Marina decries the oppression of both Mother Nature and of women: “I just want a world where I can see the feminine”.
The flexibility of popular culture
Diamandis also chooses to address the contradictions of social media in her new track. She recounts the infamous way in which the media noted Britney Spears’ 2007 breakdown: “Britney shaved her head and all we did was call her crazed.” Yet, she acknowledges the benefits of the Internet Age shortly after: “Me Too went on to unveil / Truth and all its glory”.
Following the 2017 reporting of the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, who was later convicted of rape, popular social media channels enabled the #metoo movement to trend, empowering thousands of women to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault and publicly name their abusers. The references to both Spears and Weinstein feel particularly pertinent in the weeks following the murder of Sarah Everard – in a climate where the objectification, harassment and abuse of women and their bodies is being hotly debated.
A return to her older musical style
Both the vocals and the lyrics – razor-sharp, punchy, and theatrical – would remind any seasoned Marina fan of her debut album The Family Jewels (2010), while the instrumental parts provide a welcome throwback to Froot (2015). The song veers jauntily between rapid, guitar-heavy verses detailing the failures of humanity, and the dreamlike iterations of the chorus which evoke the voice of the omnipotent Mother Nature. Overall, however, Marina is taking a new path – her latest single demonstrates the artist’s growth, both professionally and personally.
With the climate crisis and the pandemic coinciding, the challenge to remain relevant is ever more difficult for musical artists – but Marina’s latest track achieves both timeliness and timelessness with ease.
Alice Manning
Featured image courtesy of Drew de F Fawkes on Flickr. Image license can be found here. No changes have been made to this image.