Love + Fear
Love + Fear | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 26 April 2019[a] | |||
Recorded | 2017–2018 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 56:16 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | ||||
Marina chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
A greyscale photograph of Marina inclining her head while gazing into the camera. Above her, the album's title and her name are placed in black lettering. | ||||
Singles from Love + Fear | ||||
|
Love + Fear (stylised in all caps) is the fourth studio album by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis and her first under the mononym Marina. It was released in full on 26 April 2019 by Atlantic Records.
The album was supported by the singles "Handmade Heaven", "Superstar", "Orange Trees", "To Be Human", and "Karma".[1][2] It also includes the Clean Bandit collaboration "Baby". The album was announced alongside a tour, which visited the US, Canada, and Europe, which began in April 2019 and concluded in November.[3] It is musically a pop,[4] dance-pop,[5] synth-pop,[6] and electropop[7] record. Diamandis released an acoustic companion EP, Love + Fear (Acoustic), on 13 September 2019.[8]
Background and production
After the release of Froot, Diamandis took a break from touring to rest and find new creative inspiration.[9] In June 2016, Diamandis told Fuse that she had begun writing new material for upcoming songs.[10] In December 2016, electronic group Clean Bandit confirmed that "Disconnect", a song they had performed with Diamandis at the 2015 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, would be released on their new album;[11] it was released as a single in June 2017 and she performed it with them at Glastonbury.[12]
To mark a new stage in her career, Diamandis announced via Twitter in 2018 that she would be dropping her "and the Diamonds" moniker to release music as "Marina" (stylised in all caps), explaining that "It took me well over a year to figure out that a lot of my identity was tied up in who I was as an artist... and there wasn’t much left of who I was."[13] In November 2018, a second collaboration with Clean Bandit and Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, "Baby", was released,[14] peaking at number 15 in the UK.[15]
Upon its announcement, it was revealed that the album was to be a double album and split into two eight-track collections (Love and Fear), with each collection exploring psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' theory that humans are only capable of experiencing the nominal two emotions.[16] Marina elaborated on this, saying "There are only two emotions: love and fear. All positive emotions come from love and all negative emotions from fear. From love flows happiness, contentment, peace and joy. From fear comes anger, hate, anxiety and guilt. It's true that there only two primary emotions: love and fear, but it is more accurate to say that there is only love or fear for we cannot feel these two emotions together at exactly the same time. They are opposites. If we are in fear, we are not in a place of love. When we are in love, then we are not in a place of fear."[17]
In an interview in June 2019, Marina spoke about the conception of the title and stated, "I think [Love + Fear] can both be motivating forces... I mean there's a reason why we feel fearful - it’s from evolutionary reasons. We need fear to survive, we need love but... I think because this whole chapter of my life has had like a psychological backdrop it was a very fitting universal title. I didn't write with this concept in mind I just wrote ready freely. I didn't even know if I was going to do an album I was just writing for the joy of it and then at the end I was like what should I name it? ... I went through and so what the main themes were... [Love + Fear] kept jumping out on me."[18] It's the first album Marina wasn't involved in the production of any song. When asked about the collaborations, Diamandis said, "It's really important as a writer to feel like I'm excited about doing new things... that's why I collaborated a lot on this record... 'Orange Trees', I never would’ve wrote on my own".[19]
Release and promotion
On 31 January 2019, Diamandis teased the album by posting a picture on Instagram with the caption "8 Days".[20] The day after, she revealed in an interview the new album would come out some time in early 2019.[13] On 6 February 2019, it was revealed the title of the lead single of the album would be entitled "Handmade Heaven".[21] The single was released on digital platforms on 8 February 2019. A music video for the track directed by Sophie Muller was released concurrently with the song.[22][23] The album was announced on Instagram on 14 February 2019, with Diamandis revealing it comprised "two 8-track collections that form a set".[24] She released two cover artworks, one for each eight-track collection, and a set of tour dates for the upcoming world tour in support of the release. Every ticket to the tour purchased online through Ticketmaster or Live Nation would include a digital copy of the album. On 4 April 2019, Diamandis released the entirety of Love ahead of schedule. Four days later, she publicly performed the single "Orange Trees" for the first time on Late Night With Seth Meyers.[25] On 4 September 2019, she performed the single "Karma" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. All singles released prior to Karma were part of the album's first half, Love. "Handmade Heaven" is featured on the soundtrack to the 2019 football simulation game eFootball PES 2020.
Tour
Tour by Marina | |
Associated album | Love + Fear |
---|---|
Start date | April 29, 2019 |
End date | November 18, 2019 |
Legs | 3 |
No. of shows | 48 |
Supporting acts | Daya, Broods, Allie X |
Marina concert chronology |
The Love + Fear Tour ran from 29 April to 18 November 2019 and saw Marina play across the United Kingdom, North America, and Europe.[27] The tour included Spring and Fall dates, as well as festival dates across various countries during the Summer. The tour was opened by various artists, including DAYA, Allie X,[28] and Broods. On 28 May 2019, Diamandis announced a further five UK dates for a "part 2" of the tour.[29] On 17 June 2019, Diamandis announced additional European dates intertwined with the second part of the UK tour.[30] On 16 September 2019, Diamandis announced two extra concerts in Madrid and Amsterdam.[31]
The tour would differ from previous tours as Diamandis did not have a band. Instead, she toured with four dancers/back up singers. When asked about the tour, she stated, "[The tour] is contemporary...the format is like a contemporary dance or theatre show."[18] The stage would be slanted and everything was white so projections could show up. This was also the first time Diamandis had a choreography centric stage show.
The costumes were inspired by Beyoncé's old stage shows. Diamandis stated, "I wanted to have something that was really powerful and female".[18]
Tour dates
Date | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
Leg 1 – United Kingdom | |||
29 April 2019 | Newcastle | England | O2 Academy |
30 April 2019 | Glasgow | Scotland | O2 Academy |
3 May 2019 | London | England | Royal Albert Hall |
7 May 2019 | Bournemouth | O2 Academy | |
9 May 2019 | Birmingham | O2 Academy | |
10 May 2019 | Manchester | O2 Apollo | |
North America | |||
26 May 2019 | Boston | United States | Boston Calling |
28 June 2019 | New York | Rainbow Room | |
Europe | |||
4 July 2019 | Gdynia | Poland | Open'er Festival |
6 July 2019 | Roskilde | Denmark | Roskilde Festival |
7 July 2019 | Turku | Finland | Ruisrock |
12 July 2019 | Madrid | Spain | Mad Cool Festival |
13 July 2019 | Benicàssim | Festival Internacional de Benicàssim | |
18 July 2019 | Oeiras | Portugal | NOS Alive! |
20 July 2019 | Suffolk | England | Latitude Festival |
Leg 2 – North America | |||
10 September 2019 | Toronto | Canada | Rebel |
11 September 2019 | Montreal | Mtelus | |
13 September 2019 | Boston | United States | Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion |
14 September 2019 | Philadelphia | The Met | |
16 September 2019 | New York | Summerstage, Central Park | |
18 September 2019 | Washington, D.C. | The Anthem | |
20 September 2019 | Nashville | Ryman Auditorium | |
21 September 2019 | Atlanta | Coca-Cola Roxy | |
23 September 2019 | Chicago | Aragon Ballroom | |
24 September 2019 | Minneapolis | Orpheum Theatre | |
26 September 2019 | Houston | Revention Music Center | |
27 September 2019 | Dallas | The Bomb Factory | |
28 September 2019 | Austin | Moody Theater | |
30 September 2019 | Denver | Mission Ballroom | |
1 October 2019 | Salt Lake City | Union Event Center | |
4 October 2019 | Los Angeles | Greek Theatre | |
5 October 2019 | San Francisco | The Masonic | |
7 October 2019 | Portland | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | |
8 October 2019 | Seattle | Paramount Theatre | |
9 October 2019 | Vancouver | Canada | Orpheum Theatre |
Leg 3 – Europe | |||
28 October 2019 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Usher Hall |
29 October 2019 | Manchester | England | O2 Apollo |
30 October 2019 | Dublin | Ireland | Olympia |
1 November 2019 | Cardiff | Wales | Motorpoint Arena |
4 November 2019 | London | England | Eventim Apollo |
5 November 2019 | Brighton | Brighton Centre | |
8 November 2019 | Paris | France | Zénith |
10 November 2019 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Melkweg |
11 November 2019 | Tilburg | 013 | |
12 November 2019 | Antwerp | Belgium | Trix |
14 November 2019 | Milan | Italy | Fabrique |
16 November 2019 | Athens | Greece | Piraeus 117 Academy |
18 November 2019 | Madrid | Spain | La Riviera |
Total | 48 dates |
Critical reception
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2019) |
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 5.4/10[38] |
Metacritic | 62/100[32] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Clash | 7/10[33] |
The Independent | [34] |
The Line of Best Fit | 7/10[35] |
NME | [36] |
Pitchfork | 5.4/10[37] |
Q | |
The Irish Times |
Love + Fear received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 62 based on eight reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[32]
In December 2019, The Irish Times listed "Soft to Be Strong" among the 'Best International Songs of 2019'.[39]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Handmade Heaven" | Marina Diamandis | Joel Little | 3:30 |
2. | "Superstar" | 3:54 | ||
3. | "Orange Trees" |
| Görres | 3:08 |
4. | "Baby" (Clean Bandit featuring Marina and Luis Fonsi) |
|
| 3:25 |
5. | "Enjoy Your Life" |
|
| 3:36 |
6. | "True" |
| Görres | 3:29 |
7. | "To Be Human" | Diamandis | Little | 4:06 |
8. | "End of the Earth" |
| Flannigan | 3:41 |
Total length: | 28:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
9. | "Believe in Love" |
| Görres | 3:33 |
10. | "Life Is Strange" |
| Little | 3:17 |
11. | "You" |
|
| 3:32 |
12. | "Karma" |
|
| 3:24 |
13. | "Emotional Machine" |
| de Jong | 3:16 |
14. | "Too Afraid" |
| de Jong | 3:23 |
15. | "No More Suckers" |
|
| 3:15 |
16. | "Soft to Be Strong" |
| de Jong | 3:47 |
Total length: | 27:27 |
Notes
- The CD version of the album includes a version of "Baby" (3:42) with a guitar intro before Luis Fonsi's opening lines.
- The vinyl version of the album includes a version of "Baby" (3:41) which only features Marina and includes a guitar intro.
- "Emotional Machine" features uncredited vocals by Broods[33]
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.[40]
Love
Musicians
- Marina – lead vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–8), featured vocals (track 4), backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 6)
- Clean Bandit – lead artist (track 4)
- Luis Fonsi – featured vocals (track 4)
- Joel Little – keyboards (tracks 1, 7), drum programming (tracks 1, 7), percussion (tracks 1, 7), synthesizer (tracks 1, 7)
- Captain Cuts – keyboards (track 2), programming (track 2)
- Sam de Jong – keyboards (track 2), programming (track 2)
- Oscar Görres – keyboards (tracks 3, 5, 6), programming (tracks 3, 5, 6), percussion (tracks 3, 5, 6), guitar (tracks 5, 6), bass (track 5)
- Jack Patterson – keyboards (track 4), guitar (track 4)
- Oscar Holter – keyboards (track 5), programming (track 5), percussion (track 5), guitar (track 5), bass (track 5)
- James Flannigan – keyboards (track 8), programming (track 8), percussion (track 8), drums (track 8), violin (track 8)
- Luke Patterson – piano (track 4), percussion (track 4), additional drums (track 4), trumpet (track 4)
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – programming (tracks 5, 6, 8), additional programming (track 1)
- Erik Hassle – guitar (track 3)
- Mark Ralph – guitar (track 4)
- Nakajin – acoustic guitar (track 4)
- Grace Chatto – bass (track 4)
Technical
- Joel Little – engineering (tracks 1, 7)
- Sam de Jong – engineering (track 2)
- Alex Robinson – engineering (track 4)
- Jack Patterson – engineering (track 4)
- Mike Horner – engineering (track 4)
- Ray Charles Brown Jr – engineering (track 4)
- Ross Fortune – engineering (track 4)
- Tom AD Fuller – engineering (track 4)
- James Flannigan – engineering (track 8)
- Greg Eliason – assistant engineering (track 4)
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8)
- Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 2, 3)
- Jack Patterson – mixing (track 4)
- Mark Ralph – mixing (track 4)
- Geoff Swan – mixing (track 7)
- John Hanes – mix engineering (track 3), assistant mix engineering (track 2)
- Niko Batistini – assistant mix engineering (track 7)
- Dave Kutch – mastering (tracks 1–3, 5–8)
- Matt Deutchman – coordinating (track 8)
Fear
Musicians
- Marina – lead vocals (tracks 1–8), backing vocals (track 1)
- Joel Little – drum programming (track 2), keyboards (track 2), percussion (track 2), synthesizer (track 2)
- Oscar Görres – backing vocals (track 1), keyboards (track 1), percussion (track 1), programming (track 1), ukulele (track 1)
- Sam de Jong – keyboards (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8), programming (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8), guitar (tracks 6, 8), bass (track 8), drums (track 8)
- Mark Ralph – guitar (track 4), mandolin (track 4), ukulele (track 4)
- Caleb Nott – bass (track 5), percussion (track 5)
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – programming (tracks 5, 6, 8), additional programming (track 7)
- Georgia Nott – piano (track 5)
- Alex Hope – drum programming (track 7), keyboards (track 7), percussion (track 7), piano (track 7), programming (track 7)
- James Flannigan – keyboards (track 7), percussion (track 7), piano (track 7), programming (track 7)
Technical
- Dave Kutch – masterering (tracks 1–8)
- Joel Little – engineering (track 2)
- Niko Batistini – assistant mix engineering (tracks 1–3)
- Geoff Swan – mixing (tracks 1–3)
- Mark Ralph – mixing (track 4)
- Sam de Jong – engineering (tracks 5, 6, 8)
- Jack Patterson – mixing (track 4)
- Ross Fortune – assistant mix engineering (track 4)
- Tom AD Fuller – assistant mix engineering (track 4)
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing (tracks 5–8)
- Matt Deuthman – coordinating (track 7)
- James Flannigan – engineering (track 7)
Charts
Chart (2019) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[41] | 22 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[42] | 19 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[43] | 59 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[44] | 84 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[45] | 32 |
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[46] | 50 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[47] | 43 |
French Albums (SNEP)[48] | 136 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[49] | 18 |
Irish Albums (IRMA)[50] | 17 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[51] | 31 |
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[52] | 44 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[53] | 4 |
Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)[54] | 90 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[55] | 24 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[56] | 20 |
UK Albums (OCC)[57] | 5 |
US Billboard 200[58] | 28 |
Notes
- ^ The album's first half Love, including the four previously released singles, was released on 4 April 2019. Fear was released on 26 April 2019.
References
- ^ "Marina unveils political montage video for 'To Be Human'". DIY. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "Life Lessons with MARINA". Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ Kitchener, Shaun (14 February 2019). "Marina album and TOUR 2019: Dates, venues, tickets release, Love + Fear release date, MORE". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ Firth, Abigail. "MARINA takes a bold new step on LOVE + FEAR, and it (mostly) pays off". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ Yeung, Neil. "AllMusic Review by Neil Z. Yeung". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ White, Caitlin. "The Best Pop Albums Of 2019". UPROXX. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (7 May 2019). "Marina review - pom-poms lightsabers and striking pop showtunes". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "MARINA on Twitter: "I know how much you've connected with my acoustic versions of songs in the past, SO… Friday Sept 13th I'm dropping the LOVE + FEAR acoustic EP ✨💖🌟"". Twitter.
- ^ "Marina & The Diamonds to take hiatus from music". Gigwise. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ^ Gracie, Bianca (24 June 2016). "Marina and the Diamonds on LGBTQ pride, writing new music and future plans: exclusive". Fuse. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ "Clean Bandit confirm Marina & The Diamonds will appear on their new album". Official Charts Company. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ Savage, Mark (23 June 2017). "Glastonbury 2017: Clean Bandit release song after 'abusive' tweets". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- ^ a b Greenwood, Douglas (31 January 2019). "My name is Marina". Dazed. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ Ding, Sophie (29 October 2018). "Clean Bandit Announce New Single 'Baby' Featuring Luis Fonsi and Marina". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100, 04 January 2019 – 10 January 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ Kenneally, Cerys (14 February 2019). "Marina Diamandis announces new double record LOVE + FEAR". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/marinadiamandis/status/1113820893887836160. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ a b c Diamandis, Marina. Interview with BUILD. 27 June 2019 BUILDseries.com
- ^ Diamandis, Marina. Interview with Youtube Space. LOVE+FEAR Q&A (Live from the YouTube space) 23 Apr. 2019
- ^ "MARINA (@marinadiamandis) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Our Savior! Marina's New Single Is Called "Handmade Heaven"". idolator. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ Moore, Sam (8 February 2019). "Marina is back, but without the Diamonds – watch the snow-covered video for 'Handmade Heaven'". NME. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ "Handmade Heaven – Single by MARINA on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "MARINA on Instagram: 'My new album is called 'LOVE + FEAR'. Two 8 track collections that form a set. 📀💿 Out April 26th.'". 14 February 2019. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2019 – via Instagram.
- ^ "MARINA: Orange Trees". Youtube. Late Night with Seth Meyers. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Marina @ The Greek 10/04/2019" by jus10h is licensed under CC BY 2.0
- ^ "MARINA announces 2019 Love + Fear Tour". AXS.
- ^ "love and fear tour poster marina - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "MARINA". Atlantic Records.
- ^ "Super. Exciting. News. European 'LOVE + FEAR' tour is coming!". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b "Love + Fear by MARINA". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Marina - Love + Fear Review". Clash Magazine. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Solomon, Kate (26 April 2019). "Marina, Love + Fear review: An album that probes deep, universal insecurities". The Independent. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ Firth, Abigail (26 April 2019). "MARINA - Love+Fear". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ Greenwood, Douglas (26 April 2019). "Marina – 'Love + Fear' review". NME. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ Thomas, Peyton (29 April 2019). "MARINA: Love + Fear Album Review". PItchfork. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Love + Fear by Marina reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ Bruton, Louise (7 December 2019). "The best music of 2019: Albums, gigs, bands and songs". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ LOVE+FEAR / Marina – TIDAL
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Marina – Love %2B Fear". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Marina – Love %2B Fear" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Marina – Love %2B Fear" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Marina – Love %2B Fear" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "Billboard Canadian Albums". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 18.Týden 2019 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Marina – Love %2B Fear" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Marina – Love %2B Fear". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Marina – Love + Fear" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Marina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Marina – Love %2B Fear". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Slovakia Album Chart". IFPI Czech. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Marina – Love %2B Fear". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Marina – Love %2B Fear". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Marina Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 May 2019.