''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh singer-songwriter

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

and her last under a major label. The album was released on 11 June 2021 through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. She began writing music for the record in August 2019, five months after the release of her fourth studio album, ''

Love + Fear Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the lov ...

'' (2019). The album was produced by Diamandis,

Jennifer Decilveo Jennifer Erin Decilveo is an American Grammy-winning, Brit and Mercury Prize-nominated record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. Her production and songwriting credits include Beth Ditto of The Gossip, Bat for Lashes, Andra Day, Po ...

and James Flannigan; the latter collaborated on her previous album. ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' is a pop,

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

, and

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

record that explores themes such as feminism, global warming, misogyny, heartbreak, and racism. ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, many of whom compared it to her previous works. The album was preceded by four singles: " Man's World", "

Purge the Poison "Purge the Poison" is a song written and recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina for her fifth studio album, '' Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' (2021). It was released as the project's second single on 14 April 2021, through Atlantic Reco ...

", the title track, and "

Venus Fly Trap The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina. It catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a trapping ...

", all of which accompanying a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

. It peaked at number 17 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, while it debuted at 92 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. A deluxe edition of the album was released on 7 January 2022, which contained three new tracks and two demos of songs that appeared on the standard edition. It was preceded by the promotional single "Happy Loner". Marina confirmed at a concert on 23 May 2022 that ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' would be her final album under her 14-year long contract with

, and that she would be an independent artist going forward.

Background and production

Following the release of her fourth studio album ''

'' in 2019, Marina embarked on a multi-leg tour and released an acoustic companion

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP), ''

Love + Fear (Acoustic) ''Love + Fear (Acoustic)'' is the seventh extended play by Welsh singer and songwriter Marina. It was released digitally on 13 September 2019 by Atlantic Records and contains five acoustic versions of songs that originally appeared on Marin ...

''. She also began writing music for a fifth studio album in July 2019, and confirmed her plans via an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

post, in January 2020. The news was followed up by the release of the soundtrack single " About Love" in February, which was featured on the soundtrack to the American romantic comedy film '' To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You'' (2020). For the album, Marina worked with various female collaborators as she announced through her social media in 2019, looking for recommendations from her fans and friends. Some of the collaborators included director Alexandra Gavillet, photographer Coughs and producer

. Writing sessions took at Marina's home in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

, which Decilveo refer to her as "the real deal and, in this strange pop market, it's refreshing to have somebody with lyrics that are going against the grain." She stated in a Q&A she made in April 2020 that she had written 70% of the record. In June 2021, she confirmed to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that she and her boyfriend Jack Patterson ended their five and a half years relationship during pandemic. Unlike its predecessor, ''Ancient Dreams In a Modern Land'' was written solely by Marina and she co-produced five tracks. The tracks " Man's World" and "Pandora's Box" were written between late 2019 and early 2020, while the rest of the album was conceived during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Music and lyrics

''Ancient Dreams In a Modern Land'' has been described as a pop,

, and

record. During songwriting sessions for the record, Marina was motivated by the mistreatment of women and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

individuals throughout history, and gathered further inspiration from the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...

. Other songs had a more personal inspiration, some of them focusing on her breakup. The album deals with themes of feminism, global warming, misogyny, heartbreak, and racism. The lyrics to the songs are wordy, and present more "vim and attitude" than the songs on ''Love + Fear''. About this shift, Marina said that "there was a certain portion of my fan base that didn't connect as much because 'Love + Fear''was a much slicker, shinier record" and their opinions impacted her decision to do a "wild, raw record" as its successor. Nick Levine from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' wrote that ''Ancient Dreams In a Modern Land'' "might also be her most personal record."

Songs

The album opens with its title track, a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

, and

song with a

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

style beat. It is backed by drums and a "cinematic guitar riff". Danielle Chelosky, a writer for ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'', compared it to

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

' 2008 single "

Womanizer Womanizer may refer to: * "Womanizer" (term), a promiscuous heterosexual man * "Womanizer" (song), a 2008 song by Britney Spears * "Womanizer", a 1977 song by Blood, Sweat & Tears from '' Brand New Day'' * ''Womanizer'', a 2004 album by Absolute ...

". According to Tristan Kinnett from Mxdwn, the song's lyrics find Marina envisioning "the possibility of leaving her Earthly form behind her". She sings the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

("I am not my body, not my mind or my brain / Not my thoughts or feelings, I am not my DNA") in a high-pitched

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

. "Venus Fly Trap" is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

-influenced pop song. The chorus consists of Marina asking: "Why be a wallflower when you can be a Venus fly trap?" Other lyrics in the song are "unexpectedly" personal, particularly "I know that money ain't important, and it don't mean you're the best / But I earned it all myself, and I'm a millionairess", according to Levine. The following track and

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, "Man's World", was described as a dreamy and melodic

alternative pop Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

anthem. Backed by a piano performance from Marina, she criticises the behaviour of men towards women and minorities. Some lyrics reference former actress

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

or controversial subject matters, such as

Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

, the current

Sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

. Marina criticises Bolkiah and name-drops

the Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and cel ...

, which he owns, where she references "a sheik who killed thousands of gay men" and concludes "I guess that's why he bought the campest hotel in LA then". Derrick Rossignol from

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...

said that the song's chorus (" Mother Nature's dying, nobody's keeping score / I don't want to live in a man's world anymore") confirms that "Marina put her money where her mouth is", in regards to her decision to work with female musicians on her fifth album. "Purge the Poison", a guitar-driven pop and

anthem, was called "an

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

anthem of sorts" by ''Billboard''s Gab Ginsberg, due to its lyrics that speak of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Marina wrote the song from the point-of-view of Mother Nature, and addresses societal expectations regarding

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

and

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

. As Mother Nature, she opens the song, addressing events such as United States wars, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic: "Virus come, fires burn / Until human beings learn / From every disaster / You are not my master." Other lyrics in the song reference memorable

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

events, such as

shaving her head in 2007, and

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...

's role in the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

. "Highly Emotional People" is the album's first

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, which was compared to

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan Order of Canada, OC Order of British Columbia, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing ( ...

's music. In it she sings about struggles for men of sharing feelings, a topic that could be part of her former relationship. "New America" includes an arrangement of frantic

pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as "pinched", and sometimes roughly as "plucked") is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument : * On bowed ...

strings, ominous choirs and a faint

poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...

special effects in the background. A song written in response to the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

, the track shares a similar theme with "Purge the Poison", criticizing various injustices underneath American history. The following track "Pandora's Box" is a

baroque pop Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid 1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...

ballad that contains cello and strings arrangement. The representation of

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...

in the track was lauded as it "transcends the misogyny of the original myth into a symbol of power and independence in Marina's hands." "I Love You but I Love Me More" departs from the piano-led ballads with a guitar-addled

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

ballad that includes a contagious chorus. Her favourite song from the record, it serves as a reminder that

self-love Self-love, defined as "love of self" or "regard for one's own happiness or advantage", has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness, synonymous with amour-propre, conceitedness, eg ...

is important after a breakup. The ninth and tenth tracks of the records are both piano ballads. "Flowers" was described as "the twinkly breakup song about hanging onto someone for longer than they deserved." The album closes with "Goodbye", which serves as a theatrical ending where Marina says farewell to the "girl that I've been" and her former lover. She said when she was writing the song she "was crying so hard she couldn't record the demo properly." Several critics made comparisons between the songs on ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' and Marina's older albums. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called "Purge the Poison" a "callback" to '' The Family Jewels'' (2010). Levine summarized the message in "Venus Fly Trap" as a "tongue-in-cheek self empowerment banger" that makes reference to her second studio album, ''

Electra Heart ''Electra Heart'' is the second studio album by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. It was released on 27 April 2012 by 679 Artists and Atlantic Records. Diamandis collaborated with producers i ...

'' (2012). ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''s Keaton Bell said the lyrics to "Man's World" were similar to those of "Savages" from her third album, ''

Froot ''Froot'' (stylised in all caps) is the third studio album by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis and her last under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. It was originally scheduled to be released on 3 April 2015 by Neon Gold Records and Atlantic ...

'' (2015). Furthermore, Dimitra Gurduiala from ''Atwood Magazine'' said "Savages" is a masterpiece of a song that ''Love + Fear'' lacked, but that "Purge the Poison" suggested a return to this type of era for Marina.

Release and promotion

On 14 April 2021, Marina confirmed ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' as the name of the album and revealed its complete track listing. It was made available for

pre-order A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...

the same day, with an expected release date for 11 June 2021. It was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

, and physically as a CD and three unique, collectible

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

s. She also previewed "New America" two weeks ahead of the album's release, sharing a snippet of its audio via her social media accounts. However, several European stores were selling the album CDs five days before the official release. A deluxe version of the album was released on 7 January 2022. It failed to chart on the UK Official Albums Chart Top 100 but re-entered the Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 at number 26 on 14 January 2022.

Singles

''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' was preceded by the release of three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. The

, "Man's World", premiered on 18 November 2020, two months after Marina teased a different previously unreleased song titled "Happy Loner". She originally intended to release "Man's World" in April 2020, to coincide with her performance at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

, but the cancellation of the festival due to the

prevented it. Commercially, it reached the lower rankings of the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

downloads In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...

and sales charts, and a top 40 chart in New Zealand. The accompanying music video was directed by Alexandra Gavillet and inspired by the neoclassical works of English painter

John William Godward John William Godward (9 August 1861 – 13 December 1922) was an English painter from the end of the Neo-Classicist era. He was a protégé of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, but his style of painting fell out of favour with the rise of modern ...

. Remixes of the song by

Muna Muna may refer to: Places * Muna (Mikulovice), a World War II POW camp and ammunition factory in the Czech Republic * Muna, Estonia, village in Rõuge Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Muna, Iran, village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Mu ...

and

Empress Of Lorely Rodriguez (born October 19, 1989), known professionally as Empress Of, is a Honduran-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer based in Los Angeles, California. To date, she has released three studio albums via XL Recor ...

featuring

Pabllo Vittar Phabullo Rodrigues da Silva (born 1 November 1993), known professionally as Pabllo Vittar (), is a Brazilian drag queen and singer. Life and career 1993–2016: Early life Born in São Luís, Maranhão, São Luís, Phabullo is a dizygotic twin ...

were released in January and February 2021, respectively. "

" was released as the album's second single on 14 April 2021, alongside the album announcement. She had previously teased the song in a May 2020 social media post, where she previewed an early

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

and some of its lyrics. Its music video debuted during the same day, featuring Marina in an array of glittery and colorful outfits. To promote the single, Marina established a website titled AllMyFriendsAreWitches.com, where fans could receive news updates regarding the parent album. An alternate version of the song, featuring a new verse from

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova Nadya Tolokonnikova ( rus, Надя Толоконникова, p=, full name Nadezhda Andreevna Tolokonnikova, rus, Надежда Андреевна Толоконникова, p=nɐˈdʲeʐdə təlɐˈkonʲːɪkəvə; born November 7, 1989) ...

, was released on 5 May. Marina teased a snippet of the album's title track on her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account on 11 May 2021, before announcing that it would become the album's third single. It was released on 19 May, coinciding with news that Marina will take part in a

livestreaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

concert, Ancient Dreams: Live from the Desert, scheduled to be broadcast on 12–13 June 2021.

Promotional singles

A remix of "I Love You but I Love Me More" featuring Beach Bunny was released digitally on 20 October 2021. Similarly, "Highly Emotional People" was released on 5 November 2021, also in remixed version, by Le Sac. "Happy Loner", originally an unreleased song, was released by Diamandis on 3 December 2021 as a promotional single to promote the deluxe version.

Tour

In early 2020, Marina announced a provisional tour she unofficially referred to as Inbetweenie Tour, that would be developed in the transition period from one project to another, however, the tour was canceled after

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

began. To promote the album, she embarked on her sixth worldwide tour titled Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land Tour on 2 February 2022. A three-leg tour, it will visit the United States, South America and Europe. It ended on 25 May 2022 at the Olympia Theatre in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. The 18 February date for

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

was subsequently cancelled due to the pandemic.

Critical reception

''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' received positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 77 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

''s Thomas H. Green considered ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' to be Marina's best album, partly because of her newfound "mouth ness. He called it an "outrageously enjoyable album" and was satisfied that her recent move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

did not result in a musical direction that he referred to as "

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

smooth". Jessica Fynn of '' Clash'' felt the album reflected Marina's desire to "reclaim her sense of self", in addition to her "natural instinct for songwriting and her lion-like resilience"; she also likened songs "Venus Fly Trap", "Man's World", and "I Love You but I Love Me More" for recalling her "wildly defiant and wonderfully juvenile" ''

'' era. Vicky Greer, a contributor to ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

'', praised Marina's authenticity, writing that her lyrics "slap you in the face while you dance along"; she noted an increased usage of political messages in the album, but ultimately considered it empowering and a contender for year's best albums. Red Dziri from ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' felt ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'' consisted of two mini albums, with the first half being "socio-politically charged" and the second consisting of "more tender intimate narrative . He also enjoyed her "sense of hard-earned confidence" and sharper "trademark theatrical glam", following ''Love + Fear''. According to ''

Dork Dork is a pejorative term for a person (compare with " dweeb" and "fool"). Dork may also refer to: People * Dork Sahagian, Armenian-American climate scientist Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Dork'' (EP), an album by AFI * ''Dork'' (magaz ...

''s Abigail Firth, Marina takes herself too seriously on the album, as opposed to her direction in ''The Family Jewels'' and ''Electra Heart''. However, she enjoyed the album's ballads ("Highly Emotional People" and "Flowers") and the references to Marina's song catalogue.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. All tracks are written solely by

Marina Diamandis Marina Lambrini Diamandis (; el, Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps), and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land''. *

– vocals, piano (track 3),

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

(tracks 1-3, 6, 7) Additional musicians * James Flannigan – instruments, programming (tracks 1, 5-7, 9, 10) *

– drum programming, keyboards,

synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

(tracks 4, 8) * Alex Reeves – drums (tracks 1, 2) * Sam Kauffman – drums (track 3, 4, 8) * Louie Diller – drums (track 5) *

Jack Garratt Jack Robert Garratt (born 11 October 1991) is an English singer, songwriter and composer from Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire. He released his debut studio album ''Phase'' on 19 February 2016. At the 2016 Brit Awards he received the Critics' ...

– guitars, bass (track 2) * David Levita – guitar (track 3, 4, 8) * Patrick Kelly – bass (track 3, 4, 8) * Matt Harris – bass (track 9) * Paul Frith –

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

(track 6) * Jonathan Dreyfuss – strings (track 6, 7, 10) Production * James Flannigan – production * Jennifer Decilveo – production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(track 3, 4, 8), additional vocal production * Bella Corich – production assistant (tracks 11, 13) * Marco Pasquariello – drum engineering (tracks 1, 2) * Cian Riordan – engineering (track 3) * Andrew Lappin – engineering (tracks 4, 8) * Justin Long – drum engineering (track 5) * Jacob Johnston – assistant engineer (track 3) * Nick Brumme – assistant engineer (track 3) * Matt Harris – vocal editing (track 3, 4, 9) * John O'Mahony – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 4-10) * Dan Gretch – mixing (track 3) *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bisho ...

– mastering (tracks 1, 2, 4-10) *

Emily Lazar Emily B. Lazar is an American mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997. She won a Grammy Award for ...

– mastering (track 3)

Charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{Marina Diamandis 2021 albums Atlantic Records albums Marina Diamandis albums Albums produced by Jennifer Decilveo