Marina and the Diamonds - The Family Jewels

Marina and the Diamonds

The Family Jewels is the debut studio album by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina and the Diamonds, released on 22 February 2010 by 679 Recordings. The album was produced by Liam Howe, Richard Stannard, Pascal Gabriel and Greg Kurstin. The album was certified silver in the United Kingdom days before its release.

Background

Diamandis explained that the album "is a body of work largely inspired by the seduction of commercialism, modern social values, family and female sexuality". She also describes it as "a really diverse album stylistically speaking because I'm such a flexible writer, so there's a lot of pop on it, but there's kind of a lot of leftfield experimental stuff as well. Its basically an album about what not to be".

Critical response

The Family Jewels has received mostly positive reviews; aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised rating of 73% based on nine critical reviews. Hugh Montgomery of Q magazine commented that the album presented a range of different styles, skipping "from glam-disco (Shampain) and bubblegum punk (Girls) to quavering piano laments (Obsessions) and cabaret ditties (Hermit The Frog)", and said the singer's "imaginative reach" was "complemented by a winning pop savviness." However, The Independent's Andy Gill gave the album a negative review saying it "demonstrates the inevitable workings of entropy on pop methodology" and describes "Shampain" and "Hermit the Frog" as "every bit as annoying as their punning titles, with queasy, prancing piano and synth figures labouring away methodically, Mika-fashion, while she searches unsuccessfully for worthwhile lyrical routes".