[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwfCjYv7gVQ]
Order from I-tunes here
Russ Chimes Remix
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/vonpip/mowglis-road-russ-chimes-remix”]
We’ve got obsessions / All you ever think about are sick ideas involving me, involving you’ sang Marina and the Diamonds, and ironically in doing so, kick started my own mini obsession with her music! Not, you understand, in the scary ‘I’m going to kidnap you and keep you in my room until you write me a song,’ Kathy Bates/James Caan type sense. No, no, more of a ‘by god, this is everything pop music should be’ kind of reaction, an aesthetic appreciation, if you will, for the fabulous music Marina has been producing and an admiration for her refreshing honesty about, well, …everything really. So if like me, you’re becoming rather jaded by the dreary over-hyped production line procession of insipid, anodyne pop princesses, then I’d advise you to look no further than the rather wonderful Marina and The Diamonds. Unlike Blondie, Marina isn’t actually a band as such but a solo artist, she explains the choice of name thus “I like fantasy and I hate loneliness so the idea of Marina & the Diamonds instantly felt cute and warming and not as egocentric as Marina Diamond.” Her brilliant debut ‘Obsessions’ was issued as a limited release by those hip and happening dudes over at Neon Gold and was lauded with justified praise from every quarter. The follow up the equally stunning ‘Crown Jewels EP’ cemented Marina’s reputation as one of the brightest talent’s resident within these here shores.
Now at last her first official single hits the shelves on 16th November which will hopefully establish her as the nations sweetheart and see statues erected in her honour the length and breath of the country. (Ok I’ll admit that’s my best case scenario, but you get my drift) The song is actually a re-recording of ‘Mowgli’s Road’ which first appeared alongside ‘Obsessions’ earlier in the year and is a track which quickly established itself as a firm fan favourite and crowd pleaser at this year’s summer festivals. Of course there’s always a concern when a much loved song gets a make-over, but thankfully ‘Mowgli’s Road’ retains the driving, relentless energy and purity of the original with the addition of some rather nice keyboard flourishes which aren’t over done and serve to further polish this already glittering musical diamond. ‘Mowgli’s Road,’ all pounding beats and “cuckoo” shrieks, is the perfect introduction to Marina’s kaleidoscopic pop world which has been described as part Kate Bush and part Lene Lovich. It positively throbs with energy and life and is unlike anything else being produced in the pop sphere at the moment. It’s catchy enough for the chart kids to get hooked but it also has a wild, dangerous, and let’s face it, slightly demented edge that will appeal to the indie crowd too.
Off stage Marina shoots from the lip and takes no prisoners, for example when she was lazily compared to Kate Nash she retorted “I’m sooo like Kate Nash because OOPS! I have a vagina and a keyboard.” Marina’s songs should be judged on their own merits, they are distinctive, unique, intelligent, literate, powerful and at times rather moving. To dismiss Marina as merely “kooky” or “quirky” would be doing her a huge disservice as she produces music that is as diverse as it is wonderful and unique. She certainly is a ‘one off’ as regular readers of her blogs and twitter updates will doubtless testify, whether she is tweeting from a train warning that if the drunken bloke opposite her kicks her leg one more time she will rip his f**king head off, to ruminating on the pros and cons of life in Sweden “Everyone is beautiful and tanned, so self-esteem may suffer / could end up contributing to high suicide rate in Scandinavia” she comes across as far more real than the likes of Lily Allen ever could.
‘Mowgli’s Road’ deserves to set Marina on the road to stardom, she’s just the sort of talented, vivacious character the pop arena is crying out for at the moment. Full of life, bursting with ideas and striving to make music of value on her own terms. She manages to appear esoteric, yet honest and open, fiesty, yet vulnerable. And it is these kind of contradictions that make her such a compelling individual…. I make no apologies for the unrelenting enthusiastic tone of this review (you should have seen the first draft) but I haven’t been this excited about a new artist for quite some time.
Acquaint yourself with Marina and make her a star! This Diamond is a rare and precious gem.
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Originally written for Altsounds.com here a review which caused a little bit of controversy too , which was nice !
This is genius-mad
Dude I reckon you work for the record company, she’s all over this blog, what the deal?? You just push bands you like and its not write. Whats your problem? Shes not as good as you say. Yu need to listne to poper music man
And you need a spell check Wade, you little F**k puppet . I’m not quite sure what your prattling on about here. No I don’t work for the company I just happen to think Marina’s an amazing talent, nothing more sinister than that.
I believe nursey has arrived with your meds so off you pop
F*ck you pricko
You’re a very special man Wade.
Wade you’re embarrassing yourself. I’m with Pip, Marina is a genius. Unlike you. Why not button your lip
Hey Von Pip, your response just made me chortle in a significant manner !! Wade – the vast majority of music blogs celebrate things they like. That is kind of the point. Now let’s all calm down – it’s only pop music.
Thank you Robin :) I’m afraid Wade hasn’t quite made that mental leap just yet…the evolutionary process is something the poor chap doesn’t seem to have a ticket for it seems!
“You just push bands you like and its not write. ”
He’s white you no, it’s not write to white about bands you like, you shud white about bands what you don’t like. What you did is just plain wong.
Y’all talking shit, as lona as ure happy with lame chick rock. I still think you work for her fags
Oh hello, he’s back! They allow unsupervised net access in the Asylum these days do they Wade? How very liberal…
“Chick rock” ?? Hello is that the spirit of Bernard Manning ? Are you there Bernard ..show us a sign … Is it 1972??
I can only think of two possibilities
1. Women with brains scare you
or
2.(and I may be wide of the mark here) You’re a drooling cretin ?
Which is it Wade? you’re starting to make the folk who commented on The Horrors review a while back look like intellectual giants.
Somebody needs a hug..
I would just like to add that anybody who doesnt get Marina has a head like a butter churn and probably deserves to be called Wade. She is just beautiful, talented and inspiartional.
Love
Waldo Stipple( female)x
at least my cd collectiom isnt full of pansey assed chicks. You embarras yourself freakos
Bell end?
I did wonder what Lord Pip of Pipland was on about in regard to Marina
but Im nothing if not open minded and so I listened and you are right. Shes wonderful
Oh, this is fun!!! This is an even higher, almost Wildean level of criticism than I received for my review of the Horrors LP, Von Pip….. I have a theory… Wade is in fact “Anon”, and has been spending the intervening months since he would pop up with his pithy one-word gems by leafing through the expanded OED and volumes of Proust, hence the vastly expanded vocabulary…
Go on, fess up, Wade, you’re the secret super-hero alter-ego of Anon aren’t you?… AREN’T YOU???
You might be on to something there Richard old son