MARINA - Venus Fly Trap - Single [Review]

The fourth single released from Marina Diamandis' upcoming fifth studio album Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, "Venus Fly Trap" is a song about being confident in yourself and proud of everything that you have accomplished so far. I can't say for sure whether or not it's intentional, but it definitely seems to me as if the song references her song "Hollywood" from her first album The Family Jewels. That song takes a critical approach in its discussion of the Hollywood lifestyle, and here in "Venus Fly Trap," Marina, in the first verse, sings, "I never quite fit in to that Hollywood thing. I didn't play that game for the money or the fame." With Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land being, as I said, her fifth studio album with past albums such as Electra Heart and FROOT being moderately successful financially, it would seem as if Marina has since embraced the lifestyle, especially since (as discussed in this interview) she recently bought a house in and moved to Beverly Hills. However, she did it in her own way and on her own terms: "I did it my way, baby. Nothing in this world could change me." In the song's intro and bridge, she asks the rhetorical question, "Why be a wallflower when you can be a Venus fly trap?" This more or less sums up the song's message as it is, like I said, about empowerment and being true to yourself. As have just about all of the singles released thus far from the album, it also addresses sexism and misogyny such as in the bridge when she, in a breathy and whispered tone, sings, "They'll shame you, blame you, pretend to even hate you, take away your rights, pacify you with their lies." Marina addressed the song's lyrics and sound by saying that the song "is really sassy. I'm sure my lyrics are going to be taken out of context and misunderstood, which I love. It's a very sassy, fun, bouncy, big song. It's silly, but I love it so much." In the aforementioned interview to which I linked, Marina stated that Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is most similar in sound to her first album The Family Jewels, and I so far definitely agree. The lead single "Man's World" (reviewed here) is, in my opinion, most similar to her third album FROOT, but the following singles "Purge the Poison" (reviewed here) and "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land" (reviewed here) definitely remind me of The Family Jewels, as does "Venus Fly Trap" which incorporates jaunty piano and a playful indie rock sound very similar to the overall sound of The Family Jewels, and I am so excited to hear the rest of the album (which drops tomorrow!). Although "Venus Fly Trap" is probably my least favorite song of the four singles released thus far, I do still really love it, and its music video is by far by favorite music video released so far this era!