MARINA - Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land [Review]

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is Welsh/Greek pop musician Marina Diamandis' fifth studio album following 2019's LOVE + FEAR. I overall enjoyed LOVE + FEAR, especially with songs like "To Be Human," "End of the Earth," and "Believe in Love" being some of the best of her catalogue so far, but it (as an overall whole with those songs notwithstanding) is my least favorite MARINA album so far, and that's in large part because it's largely absent of the fun and playful attitude usually exhibited in her work. It's definitely back on Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, though, especially front and center on tracks such as "Venus Fly Trap" and "Purge the Poison." Prior to the album's release, four singles were released from the album - "Man's World" (reviewed here), "Purge the Poison" (reviewed here), "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land" (reviewed here), and "Venus Fly Trap" (reviewed here), and while I like all four of those songs, she was definitely holding out on us because those singles don't even showcase the best that this album has to offer. Ancient Dreams is absolutely beautiful and so much more emotionally raw and brutally honest than what I expected after having heard the singles. That's primarily because the album ultimately has two themes that are, in fact, split right in half (although I doubt that that was the intention as it was on LOVE + FEAR). One thing that I have more than likely discussed somewhere on this blog before, however, is the fact that albums tend to be promoted much differently nowadays than they used to be, and I am not the hugest fan of it. When I was growing up, an album would usually get one lead single - two at the absolute most - before the album dropped, and I liked that because when you finally got the album, most of it was still a surprise. Nowadays, however, you usually get several singles before the album comes out, oftentimes so many, in fact, that you end up having heard half of the album (or close to it) before it comes out, and Ancient Dreams is no exception to that trend. In fact, if you had heard all of the singles released thus far, then when you first hit play on the album when it came out this past Friday, you wouldn't have heard anything new until track 5, and with the album only consisting of ten tracks, that means that - as I said - fans had heard almost half of it before the release. I am not a fan of this trend and miss the days when most of the album was still a surprise when you got it, but I digress (and yes, I do realize that I could simply choose not to listen to the singles until I get the album).

One of the reasons why I point all that out, however, is that, like I said, nothing new is heard until the fifth track, as the first four tracks had all already been released as singles, so while I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about the first four tracks since I already reviewed them, I do want to mention something about the opening title track that I didn't mention in my review of it. First of all, both it and "Purge the Poison" have really grown on me, and I now consider both of them to be highlights on the album. Secondly, I think that there might be an intentional nod to the FROOT track "Savages" in the title track. "Savages" is an upbeat and playful track that looks at humanity from a critical and cynical perspective, positing the possibility that things like rape and murder happen because it's part of human nature. Near the end of the first verse of "Savages," she argues, "At the end of the day, it's a human trait hidden deep down inside of our DNA." Here on "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land," she sings in the chorus, "I am not my body, not my mind or my brain, not my thoughts or feelings; I am not my DNA." I don't think that mentioning DNA in both tracks is a coincidence; I think that this is Marina acknowledging what she said in "Savages" and amending it, basically saying, "Yes, that ugly stuff can be a part of human nature, but we're more than just human nature. We can choose to be better." Moving on, however, the first new song that Ancient Dreams offers up is the piano ballad "Highly Emotional People." The piano accompaniment is gorgeous, and the song is the first spot on the album that is likely, at least in part, about her ex-boyfriend Jack Patterson of Clean Bandit, although I think that there is more than one way to interpret the song which I don't think are exclusive to one another. The chorus features Marina's signature porcelain vocals singing in a higher and precarious register, "'Cause we're just highly emotional people, and you don't need to hide. Sometimes it's hard to tell me how you feel. I never see you cry... You know it's safe to tell me how you feel." Marina has apparently confirmed that the song was inspired by her relationship, indicating that her ex was a reserved and stoic person, but I think that it can be applied to men in general because of the bridge (my favorite part of the song): "People say men don't cry. It's so much easier to just lie 'til somebody takes their life. Emotions are a part of our design." She is here making the case that emotions are a part of being human and that your sex or gender has nothing to do with it. It's a powerful (not to mention true) outlook.

"New America" is, to me, very reminiscent in style of Electra Heart, although some fans have also compared the melody of the chorus to the chorus of the FROOT title track, and once I saw that comparison, I went back and listened for it and now can't unhear it. (As I said, however, the style of the song is overall very reminiscent of Electra Heart. It, to me, features the big and full sound of songs like "Bubblegum Bitch" and "Radioactive.") Like the singles released thus far, the song (the title of which reminds me of Halsey's "New Americana") takes a critical look at the state of things today, this time specifically regarding the United States (which Diamandis had sort of previously done on "Hollywood" from The Family Jewels). She opens with, "Everything that made you great only made you bad, made the people hate all the good they had," and this is very likely a reference to Donald Trump's horrendous presidency and his campaign slogan, Make America Great Again, which many people combated with the argument that America was already great. Marina stated that she began writing this song the day after news broke of George Floyd's murder, and that makes sense because the song, amongst other things like privilege and wealth, definitely addresses racism: "Who gave you jazz, hip hop, rock and roll, and the blues?" It is of course a rhetorical question because the answer to it is people of color, but the influences and accomplishments of people of color are often overlooked, and people of color are frequently not afforded the respect that they deserve. I love this line at the end of the chorus: "Stars are shining for you, sparkling red and blue." The colors are clever because they're not only two of the colors on the American flag but also likely represent blood and tears. It's a very powerful song, although I do wish that its spot on the album were switched with "Highly Emotional People." Remember how I said that the album essentially has two themes? Half of the album is about society; the other half is about heartbreak, and like I said previously, "Highly Emotional People" is essentially the bridge between the two as it very likely deals with both of those themes. It would therefore make more sense to have "New America" closer to songs similar in theme - songs like "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land" and "Purge the Poison." While I do realize that that would result in an ever higher number of slower ballads heard on the back half of the album, it would make more sense thematically; tracks 1-5 would deal with society and culture while tracks 6-10 would deal with love and heartbreak.

Speaking of love and heartbreak, "Pandora's Box" - one of my favorite songs from the album (likely my second favorite, in fact) - is the first spot on the album where it's addressed in full force without much room for alternate interpretation, and I think that the whole remainder of the album likely addresses a failed relationship. There is one line in particular for example that seems to indicate infidelity: "You damaged what we had, but for her, it's just another day." This line implies, again, that infidelity was involved in why the relationship ended and that the woman with whom the speaker's partner cheated might not have even known that she was an accomplice in infidelity. I have seen a lot of fans cite this as one of their lesser favorites on the album, and I just don't understand that at all. The melody - along with the song's strings - is so haunting and beautiful, as are the lyrics. It's also not likely a coincidence that MARINA would make use of an artifact from Greek mythology in the imagery. Being half Greek herself, she has implemented imagery from Greek mythology and history in the past. Electra Heart is in reference to the Greek tragedy of Electra, and that album's song "Hypocrates" refers to the Greek physician Hippocrates. According to the Greek legend, Pandora's box was a box that contained sickness, death, and evil - all unleashed onto the world when the box was opened. In the chorus of the song, Marina sings (in a beautifully catchy melody), "You opened up Pandora's box. You don't know what you just unlocked. I lose all control, let go of my darkest thoughts..." This ties tightly into the opening line of the song: "You almost turned me psycho. I almost lost my mind." Marina is referring to her mind as Pandora's box, saying that her lover's act of betrayal allowed for dark thoughts to escape. It's such a great track that stands out to me not only because of how beautiful its melody is but also because of how much I find myself relating to its haunting lyrics. Ancient Dreams then continues with the theme with "I Love You but I Love Me More," arguably a bit of a sequel to "Pandora's Box." "Do you expect me to believe that you've changed when I can tell that you're exactly the same?" she asks rhetorically in the first verse. She also points out in the first verse that "you'd rather shut your eyes than feel any pain," likely tying the song to "Highly Emotional People." There is also a possible Britney nod (of whom Marina is a fan) in the song when, in the chorus, she warns, "Don't come back knocking at my door." It's an upbeat and very catchy song in the vein of FROOT.

I mentioned that "Pandora's Box" is probably my second favorite song on the album, and "Flowers" is likely my first favorite. I have seen a lot of fans cite it as their favorite as well, so (similar to songs like "Teen Idle" and "Savages") it seems destined to become a fan favorite and a classic in our eyes even if it doesn't get released as a single. Like "Highly Emotional People" and the closing track, "Flowers" is a soft piano ballad and is just absolutely gorgeous. I even sent a link to the song to my best friend shortly after my first time having heard it, and she commented on how beautiful it was. A few days later, after having heard the album in its entirety herself, she cited "Highly Emotional People" and "Flowers" as two of her favorites on the album. (Like I said, it just seems like just about everyone loves this song.) I love the opening verse because I think that it might be an intentional nod to one of my favorite MARINA songs of all time - "Forget" from FROOT. The closing verse of "Forget" says, "'Cause in the end, the road is long but only 'cause it makes you strong. It's filled with peaks and twists and turns." The opening verse here on "Flowers" says, "The road had many bends, but we knew that all along. I think it made me stronger..." She goes on to say that even though difficult times have made her strong, "I would rather not betray myself just to keep your love at any cost." The song is from the perspective of someone hurting from a wrong committed by her lover, and, to me, she knows that she did the right thing by leaving but occasionally wishes that she had stayed: "...It's most tempting to give in when you're almost at the top, when you're steps from winning back all the happiness you lost." I could be misinterpreting this, but what this means to me is that she is tempted to take her lover back because she feels like the heartbreak would then go away, but she also knows that that wouldn't be the right thing to do for herself. (This would tie into the earlier line of not wanting to betray herself just to keep his love.) She argues in the chorus that "if you just bought me flowers, maybe I would've stayed," but it's unlikely that this is literal. Flowers, after all, can't save a doomed relationship. (I would know because I tried that.) Marina's love of flowers, however, is no secret, so she is likely just saying that she might have stayed if he had just paid more attention to her interests. ("With every careless action, you let me slip away.") It's just such a stunningly beautiful song, and I especially love the trilling piano in the chorus after the first line.

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, like the last two albums LOVE + FEAR and FROOT, only has one version - no deluxe version with any extra tracks. All versions therefore end with the raw piano ballad "Goodbye." "Goodbye" is such an emotional closing to the album and likely says goodbye to more than one person - her ex but also past versions of herself. My favorite part of the song is when, at the very beginning of the chorus, a single piano key is struck with force. It adds such emotional depth to the song, making her farewell feel more finalized. The song thematically reminds me a lot of Avril Lavigne's song "Goodbye" from her 2011 album Goodbye Lullaby. Like MARINA's "Goodbye," the song is saying farewell to an ex lover but is doing so with warmth, not coldness or anger, wishing them well. "Maybe we won't meet again," MARINA sings in the second verse, "but you'll always be my closest friend. I hope you'll always be happy." She also addresses their love as having had a positive impact on her and her life and seems to want to remember it that way: "No matter what happens now, nobody can take our love down," she asserts in the bridge. "It's safe in our memories, and I won't forget how you healed me." The LOVE + FEAR track "Superstar" was written about Jack and was essentially about his love healing and saving her, making this all come full circle in a really beautiful and poetic way. It is such a beautiful song that makes me cry especially because of the ways in which I can relate to it emotionally, and it's a perfect closing track to Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land. It is so hard for me to rank MARINA's albums because they are all so good and each have something unique to offer, but what I can say about Ancient Dreams is that, while offering a few echoes of past albums (especially The Family Jewels), it is one of her more ambitious albums especially in how, as stated previously, emotionally vulnerable the back half of it is. Diamandis holds nothing back lyrically and gives us the bare truth, as bitter as it might be at times, and it's a lush album combining indie rock bangers and vulnerable ballads, and I love how tracks like the title track, "Purge the Poison," and "New America" have a very full sound to them. Similar to FROOT tracks like "Can't Pin Me Down" and "Better than That," they sound very big like they're backed by a live band. Bravo, MARINA! You have done it again!