Greek-Welsh singer Marina Diamantis — previously known as Marina and the Diamonds and now just Marina — has been a presence on the pop scene for 15 years, first rising to prominence as the runner-up (behind Ellie Goulding) on the BBC’s “Sound of 2010” poll. She quickly signed a deal and dropped three albums in quick succession over the next five years, becoming a chart success in her native U.K. and doing era-specific things like opening for Katy Perry and Coldplay, having a strong Tumblr presence and getting into a Twitter beef with her friend Charli xcx in 2016 (they’ve since made up).
She’s maintained a steady presence over the years, but her new album, “Princess of Power,” is something very different — a sound and image redefinition and revitalization that seems defined by a lyric from the title track that goes “I’ve been living life locked up in tower/ But now I’m blooming like a flower.” The album is filled with deliciously pulsating electronic rhythms and hilarious and risque lyrics — one of the album’s lead singles and arguably its best song is called “C—tissimo” — that contrast startlingly with her intentionally mannered, arch singing style, which can vault suddenly into a sky-scraping soprano. (While they sound nothing alike, the “Did she just say what I think she said??” effect of the lyrics is often similar to Sabrina Carpenter’s latest.) Much of it is also, without putting too fine a point on it, perfect for gay discos.
Yet the influences aren’t only dance-oriented: The sounds of ‘80s British pop are everywhere, along with flourishes of Queen in her vocals and especially blasts of late-period ABBA in the lush strings, synth arpeggios and European melodies; there’s also a big dollop of Madonna and Gaga in its DNA. But along with the revamped sound, the biggest shift here is in attitude, a comical, winking air of opulent ennui in the lyrics and tone. To wit, from “C—tissimo”: “I’m sweet and I’m icy and strange/ Indecisive, obsessive, I crave a glass of ice-cold champagne/ We go to Lake Como and take over a château/ Do people still say YOLO?” There’s also a lovely ballad called “Hello Kitty” whose chorus includes a hilariously stately “Mrroww, mrroww.”
Fifteen years in, most artists’ careers are leveling off, or worse. “Princess of Power” suggests that Marina’s is finally beginning for real.
