Marina of Marina and The Diamonds. Photo / Supplied
Marina of Marina and The Diamonds. Photo / Supplied
She's up there with pop music's hottest-looking stars. Wouldn't you agree?
But though Welsh singer and songwriter Marina Diamandis can match it in the style and looks stakes with Katy Perry and the like, her new wave-meets-indie flavoured pop does not have the magnetic appeal of someone like Gaga.
It'shard not to like it though, because songs such as Bubblegum Bitch are irresistibly catchy and spirited while also having a harder, more thumping and theatrical edge that most girly pop chicks don't have.
Indeed, on the overwrought Lies and the catwalk-style stomp of Homewrecker the vocal and sonic dramatics that have brought comparisons with Florence and the Machine come out.
The stealth, synth-powered pop of Living Dead is a standout, and with its 80s bent sounds a little like our own Ladyhawke, and on Fear and Loathing she's soaring a la Kate Bush.
But on first single Primadonna, no doubt a banging pop track, it could be Perry or any other saucy sounding pop songbird.
It's as if she's lost some of the individuality and spark that she had on her 2010 debut, Family Jewels.
And at 12 tracks (the deluxe edition has four bonus songs) Electra Heart is a long, sometimes demanding listen, because they are not fluffy pop tunes, they are racked with emotion ("I would sell my sorry soul If I could have it all," she sings on The State of Dreaming) and ebb and flow with heartfelt feelings.
