On January 7th 2022, MARINA released the deluxe version of her fifth studio album Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land (initially released on June 11, 2021), including three new records and two demos. The album unquestionably captures what distinguishes MARINA from her contemporaries: the ability to write sincere sociopolitical records in such a profound, poetic, and vivid way. As someone who isn’t particularly drawn to a soppy love song, I have always admired her previous work for her ability to write songs about issues pervasive in society, distressing personal emotions or exploring one’s identity, but this album excels, presenting her absolute ingenuity as an artist to make music boldly, unapologetically and truthfully about political, ethical and moral concerns in our world.

The contrasting and distinctive sounds of the album are those of pulsating electric songs, unabashedly bounding to be heard, mirroring pressing societal issues in need of a solution. The album also hosts songs that are light and ethereal, with twinkling notes, mirroring her emotional connection to the topics. ‘Free Woman’, one of the additions to the deluxe version has an airy and ethereal sound, illustrating the freedom she feels from the adversities challenging women. The song begins with the lyrics “They can touch your body/ But they’ll never touch your soul”, which is achingly representative of the universal harassment so many women endure. She proceeds to discuss the difficulty of feeling confined or burdened in society as “they” have attempted to “discredit every song [she] ever wrote”. The song touches upon beauty standards and the constant resistance to the concept of women ageing, as well as detailing the autonomy women have always deserved over their bodies.

“The sound is electrifying and consists of echoes”

The two other new songs, ‘Pink Convertible’ and ‘Happy Loner’, have softer melodies and cohesive resonant sounds. ‘Happy Loner’ may be my all-time favourite MARINA song and is heartrendingly personal, while ‘Pink Convertible’ perfectly captures the essence of the album; “I just wanna forget/How fucked up is our planet” reminds you just how much these ubiquitous issues distress MARINA. The trio of songs make a stunning united addition to an already profound album.

‘Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land’ was a perfect titular song, representing how the sociopolitical issues she discusses are deeply rooted and that, even in our ‘Modern Land’, we are still battling them: “Our ancestors had to fight to survive/ Just so we could have a chance of a life”. It is a complex and interesting song that speaks to humans transcending the need to conform to societal confinements, exploring how human beings are so much more than what we have restricted ourselves to. The sound is electrifying and consists of echoes; it feels like it is whipping through the celestial sphere, speeding through the stars on a spaceship, aligning with the transcendent message of the song. ‘Man’s World’ is another poignant, heart-wrenching triumph on the albums: the song calls to the historically ingrained patriarchy — women enduring accusations of being “witches” and referencing Marilyn Monroe. The song is remarkable and devastatingly brilliant in its paradoxical ethereal feel and concurrent message of resistance. The song captures the beauty of femininity and being a woman, while battling the ‘Man’s World’ in which women are confined. The lyrics consist of vividly divine natural imagery throughout, referencing ‘Mother Nature’, and noting the innate nurturing strength women possess.

“Unapologetic, profound and extremely relevant”

‘Purge The Poison’ is a thoroughly fascinating song that calls humans to the metaphorical stand, demanding reflection on how we, as a species, have treated the planet — we need to ‘Purge the Poison’ from the world, but we may indeed be that ‘poison’. The lyrics occasionally adopt the voice of the world, referencing our poor treatment of the Earth and each other. MARINA references the Coronavirus pandemic, the #MeToo movement and visible misogyny, in both the music industry and the public eye.

‘Highly Emotional People’ contradicts the recurring theme of human brutality, instead discussing human sensitivity, emotion and our ability to break free from gender expectations or confinements. MARINA’s lyrics ache at the known societal suppression of male emotion and the statistics of male suicide: ’People say men don’t cry/It’s so much easier to just lie/‘Til somebody takes their life’. The song is powerful in its delicacy, comforting yet emboldening. ‘New America’ unapologetically addresses America as a whole, humanised entity, demanding answers and highlighting controversies dominating the state, such as gun control, the ‘free land’, health insurance and food farming, as she warns that it’s ‘time to pay’ their ‘dues’.

The remaining five songs on Ancient Dreams in A Modern Land are also definitely to be appreciated in isolation, but also as a contrast to the omnipresent social, environmental and political songs that reside on the album. Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is a thematically cohesive album that pines, addresses, questions and demands answers to the world, a world humans have overtaken and overpowered, without entirely dismissing the virtues and beauties of humanity. Unapologetic, profound and extremely relevant, encompassed in catchy, brilliant sounds, there is no album, I believe, quite like it, and no album more relevant as we propel into 2022.