Marina And The Diamonds/ The Family Jewels

Marina & The Diamonds
The Family Jewels
(679/Atlantic)

As many musical victims have found over the years, a tip off as a 'One to Watch' on a start-of-year list counts for diddly squat if your debut album fails to carry the weight of expectation.
It’s good for Marina & The Diamonds then that after months of anticipation, this debut LP has more than enough variety, pop sensibility and stardust to consolidate the singer’s place on everyone’s lips as the new decade gets underway.
With an effervescent catchiness unrivalled by many of its early-season competitors, recent single ‘Hollywood’ is one of the stand-out efforts as the disc gathers some momentum within its middle order, while you also get the feeling that a re-release of ‘Obsessions’ will provide the cleaner end of the festival spectrum with a new sing-a-long anthem come the summer.
What becomes clear as ‘The Family Jewels’ progresses is that Marina has, quite rightly, not held back in terms of wanting to lay bare the many different sides of her personality. Whether it be the sense of fragility described in ‘The Outsider’ or the image of female empowerment in ‘Girls’, she succeeds in delivering her messages with well-honed confidence.
Furthermore, there’s something refreshingly varied about her ‘light and shade’ vocal range, which album opener ‘Are You Satisfied?’ and the bonkers ‘Mowgli’s Road’ prove with ease. It all adds up to a strong, likeable debut album, which should see her stock rise - deservedly.