Marina & The Diamonds Wants A “Starring Role” on New Leak

by Bradley Stern
filed under: Marina And The Diamonds

001 Marina & The Diamonds Wants A Starring Role on New Leak

The anticipation for Marina + The Diamonds‘ upcoming album only seems to grow exponentially with each new song that surfaces these days.

Following the release of her unbelievably incredible Stargate-produced single “Radioactive” at the end of September, the indie-pop UK songstress has been hard at work putting the finishing touches on her as-of-yet untitled sophomore effort, due out sometime in 2012.

Enter “Starring Role”: A brand new track that just leaked today, rumored to have been recorded for the upcoming album. If that’s the case, no wigs are safe when Marina unleashes Album #2, because this new tune’s as absolutely brilliant as her latest single.

Stretched across a minimal, slow-building electronic beat, Marina positively seethes about a lover that’s not quite reciprocating in the emotional department. Though the song’s producer is still unconfirmed, its electro-organic feel reminds me of Guy Sigsworth‘s productions (Imogen Heap, Alanis Morrissette), or even a tinge of William Orbit‘s chillier work on Madonna‘s Ray Of Light.

But the true genius of this one? The writing. Lyrically, “Starring Role” is absolutely stellar. The balance between fragile and furious works perfectly. A few examples:

When you’re in my bed, all you give me is a heartbeat.

The only time you open up is when we get undressed.

You don’t love me, big fucking deal/I’ll never tell you how I feel.

I’d rather walk alone than play a supporting role.

Sometimes I ignore you so I feel in control/’Cause really I adore you, and I can’t leave you alone.

Amazing. Between this and “Radioactive,” are we looking at an early contender for Album of 2012? Certainly seems that way.

EDIT: Marina herself uploaded the song to YouTube over the weekend. Listen now!

“Radioactive” was released on September 30. (iTunes)

pixel Marina & The Diamonds Wants A Starring Role on New Leak

  • http://twitter.com/dylancx2 Dylan Cook

    God I love her. She has so much to offer. 2012 is going to be great. All these Indie-Pop acts.. Marina, Lana and Sky…. ugh too much anticipation.

  • Anonymous

    If she’s going to be pissed about the leak, why did you post it? I’m usually all for leaks, but she’s specifically said before that it’s damaging to her when stuff leaks. She said it puts her on edge and makes her lose creativity. So… why did you post it?

    Honestly, I’m making a special exception in her case. I’m not listening to any leaks. If it affects her the way she says it does, and when she specifically asks fans NOT TO SHARE LEAKS, there’s a line that gets crossed when they do.

  • http://www.muumuse.com Bradley Stern

    Look: NO artist wants their music to leak ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, it’s also a part of the climate we’re in as a digital society. It’s 2011. Music leaks. My withholding from posting the song wouldn’t stop the other thousands of blogs from doing the same thing.

    More importantly, the one thing that I think artists and fans alike tend to ignore is that it’s not the PUBLIC that leaks the music, it’s someone from her OWN team.  A leak means someone she’s working with isn’t trustworthy–and that’s not our fault.

    Now, if her laptop was hacked and the files were stolen? That’s one thing. That’s a crime. But if she was sharing this song with someone who decided to share it with someone (and so on and so on…), or if an engineer handling the song decided to show it off to a few friends? That’s just poor judgment. And yes, I’m saying she SHOULD hold the reigns for the project, because THAT is the true responsibility you need to take as an artist in this day and age if you sincerely want your music kept private until release.

    To say that we should all simply turn a blind eye and pretend it’s not out there is beyond wishful thinking. The issue is NOT with what ends up on the web while an album’s in development–it’s how it gets there.

  • Anonymous

    I still don’t entirely agree, but you do make VERY compelling points. I’m still gonna try to not let myself listen to any leaks. Even if it is poor judgment on her part, it feels like I’m contributing to the problem by listening to it. It harms her emotionally, and I don’t want to feel like I’m a part of making her feel worse, especially because she has told us before how this affects her as an artist and as a person. I respect her for going out on a limb and saying that, so I’ll just stick to my principles on this one. Thanks for your response, though. :D

    As a side note, I loved how you wrote your response, and while your blog posts may not ALWAYS be a testament to your true writing skill, it just makes me feel all excited to know that there’s a REAL journalist running this blog. Your writing makes me happy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/khv.ho Kim Ho

    Honestly, when it’s out,it’s out, you can’t stop the leak. Just enjoy the early x-mas present JEEZ
    Back to the music itself, Starring Role is STELLAR, indeed.
    What i like best about Marina is that she always manages to put down in words real feelings, feeling that we all have truly felt before! 

    “The Balance between fragile and furious works perfectly” I couldn’t agree more with this statement.

    After all, it’s not just about the poetry it’s more about conveying a message and making sure that it’s properly received and understood. 

    As far as I’m concerned, Marina successfully hit the spot.

    Love reading your reviews, keep up the good work Sir Stern

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=671279196 José Francisco Morales

    This doesn’t seem a Guy Sigsworth production; you should hear his new stuff with Kate Havnevik: AMAZING.
    He and Brian Eno are the best sound designers of all time in pop music.

  • http://popbytes.com/ Michael Knudsen

    STELLAR!

  • http://www.popmessiah.com Dean B

    Nail on head, Sir. These lyrics are amazing. I didn’t pay much attention to Marina and the Diamonds on their first album but I’m definitely stoked to hear album #2 at this point.



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