FROOT already seems to break some conventions by opening with the song "Happy," a slow, beautiful, and confessional ballad that sounds much more like a conclusion than it does an opening. Lyrically, the song touches upon finding happiness within yourself. What's cool is that the first track of the first album ("Are You Satisfied?") features the lyric "...it's my problem that I never am happy..." It could be coincidental but is interesting because I think that Marina's music really shows how she develops as a person, perhaps even more so than any other musician of whom I know.
The second track is the title track and is the first song that was premiered from the album. Marina did a really cool campaign for the album called Froot of the Month. Starting in November, she released one song per month. The plan had been to do that for six months until the album's release in April, but she only ended up releasing five Froots of the Month ("FROOT" "Happy," "Immortal," "I'm a Ruin," and "Forget") because the album was released about three weeks early due to it leaking. It is not clear as to whether or not there will be a sixth music video next month in keeping with the pattern. "FROOT" is groovy and funky, sounding reminiscent of late '70s disco. It is one of the strongest songs on the album melodically and, to me, is about saving your virginity for someone special.
"I'm a Ruin" is the third track and is also my favorite music video so far (it undoubtedly takes inspiration from Madonna's "Frozen" music video). The song is a mid-tempo pop/rock song about wrestling with the decision to end a relationship due to feeling like you're only going to destroy the person if you don't. It, in a way, returns to Marina's tendency to write about self-loathing, believing yourself to be terrible to someone about whom you care. Marina's swaying vocals add so much power to the song, a power ballad in its own right.
"Blue" is definitely the closest that the album gets to Electra Heart, as it sounds a bit like an outtake from it. Marina even said herself that it is one of the poppiest-sounding tracks on the album. "This is one of the most pop-sounding tracks on the record. It's quite electronic." The hook "gimme love, gimme dreams, gimme a good self-esteem" is sang in an innocent, lilting voice reminding me of Electra Heart songs such as "Primadonna." It is an upbeat, poppy song about wanting contact with someone with whom she has broken up because she doesn't want to be alone or, as the title of the song indicates, blue. I think that "Blue" would be great as a single. The sticker on the CD that I have even mentions it.
The fifth FROOT track is "Forget," which is the most recent Froot of the Month. "Forget" is powerful and rich, with a catchy melody screaming to be sang along to. Although the song is upbeat and positive, it is laden with emotion, and parts of it mind remind one of the downtempo "Teen Idle" from Electra Heart. Lyrics such as "I'm gonna leave the past behind. I've had enough; I'm breaking free." demonstrate how empowering that the song is, as it is about learning to let go of your difficult history and move forward. "Gold" is a track that, for some reason, I have seen a lot of fans say that they don't much like. It is easily one of my favorites from the album; it is so beautiful and sort of has an '80s synth sound to it. The lyrics convey moving on from the Primadonna girl and caring about non-materialistic aspects of life.
"Can't Pin Me Down" is one of the few songs on the album that could easily confuse non-fans or casual fans who don't know better and make them think that Marina and the Diamonds is a band. The song sounds like an indie rock track that you might hear in an Apple or Google commercial, reminding me quite a bit of Foster the People. Lyrically, the song is a response to many of the reviews that were written about Electra Heart, which compared Marina to popular artists such as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. On this track, Marina is essentially saying, "I may have made a radio-friendly electropop record, but you don't know me, so don't pigeon-hold me."
The eighth track is titled "Solitaire." I believe this song to be similar thematically to "Can't Pin Me Down" (which is one reason why I like that they are back to back on the album). "Solitaire" is similar to "Happy" in that it is very stripped down. There isn't a lot of production like other tracks on the album like "Blue" and "Savages." "Solitaire" is also arguably the darkest-sounding song on the record, with a broody melody and broody lyrics such as "I see people and cars covered in gold, and I'm happy to be on my own." I think that the song is about wanting to stand apart and be an anomaly in the music business rather than be compared to popular artists such as Katy Perry, as evidenced by lyrics such as "I don't want to be compared, yeah, with that cheap shimmer and glitter" and "...and all the other jewels around me, they astounded me at first." Perhaps the most expressive and assertive lyric of the song is the following: "...and all the fakes, they called me cursed, but I'm not cursed."
The next track on FROOT is titled "Better than That" is definitely the most spiteful track on the album, as admitted by Marina herself. This is another one like "Can't Pin Me Down" in that it sounds a bit indie rockish and makes Marina sound more like a band than a solo artist, a sound that Marina has said that she was actually trying to create. Many fans have strongly speculated that the song is about Marina's friendship with fellow recording artist Ellie Goulding falling apart due to Ellie's behavior. This is actually strongly evidenced by the fact that a lyric, "...like all the boys before..." is a lyric repeated several times in Ellie Goulding's song "Under the Sheets." Another line taken from Ellie is: "I guess it's just what humans do," which is similar to "I guess we thought that's just what humans do" from Ellie's "Anything Could Happen" hit.
The tenth track is titled "Weeds" and is the track that actually took the longest to grow on me. Even now, even though I appreciate the song a lot more than I did when I first heard it, it's probably my least favorite song on the album, and that is probably because the message of the song, which is slow and wistful, hits close to home for me (which sometimes works for me and sometimes doesn't). The song is essentially an apology to a current lover for not being over a past lover, for still wanting to be with the person from your past. "Savages" (as many fans seem to agree) may just be my favorite song from the album. This is another rocky-sounding one, and it is ridiculously catchy. It is the one track on the album that, to me, sounds the most like the first album The Family Jewels, and thematically, it is about human nature and about how we all have a touch of evil and savagery within us, which is why murder, rape, etc. happen on a daily basis. It's dark, but you fall in love with it quickly.
The final track on the album is "Immortal," and this song is absolutely beautiful and precious. It is ironic, though, because it is preceded by "Savages," which is basically about the dark side of human nature, while "Immortal," in a lot of ways, displays what sets us apart from other species - our ability to make and leave behind memories that keep us alive. Lyrics that I would consider to be highlights are "that's what we do it for, to reserve a place; it's just another part of the human race," "there'll be just one survivor - the memory that I was yours, and you were mine," and "when you love somebody, they'll always leave too soon..." I think that the song also hints at Marina wanting her music to make her immortal, as evidenced by the lyrics "I wanna mean something to somebody else, feel a significance in the real world. It's not enough to live out a lucky life..." It's a beautiful song about how even though, in the end, we all die, there are ways that we can leave our marks on the world.
FROOT is apparently leaving its mark even in the United States and is already on its way to becoming Marina's most financially successful work so far, which is crucially important considering the fact that it is not quite as radio-friendly and as pop-sounding as Electra Heart is. When "How to Be a Heartbreaker" premiered in the U.S., I thought for sure that she would soon explode here, but the closest that she really got to that happening was the track being covered on the television series Glee. FROOT is quite eclectic while still maintaining composure and is definitely something fresh and original. By Marina's own admission, you may need to spend a little bit more time with it than you did Electra Heart, but once you do, it's truly something special. I will always look forward to what idea Marina has up her sleeve next.
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