“Wow, I never knew I had so many Diamonds in Sheffield!” So that’s who Marina Diamandis’ famous Diamonds are.
In a way, she has every right to be shocked – on a day where the whole country melted in 30-plus degree temperatures, the Leadmill is packed to the rafters, when most sane people would cower under the nearest shady tree.
But Marina is a girl who demands attention. Whirling onto stage resplendent in fittingly diamond-studded purple tights and neon orange lipstick, she wastes no time in launching into ‘Girls’ – a piano stomper with added grrrl power, and all thoughts of sitting in the back garden with an ice-cold glass of ginger beer are easily dissipated.
The pace of the gig is relentless, with the widescreen chorus and hyperactive bounce of ‘Seventeen’ followed by ‘The Outsider’, a real brooding pop stomper, so it comes as a relief to the sweaty masses when Marina wheels out ‘I Am Not A Robot,’ the fragile nature of the song appealing to our frazzled brains.
Marina has often been criticised for her live performances, but it’s hard to see why based on tonight’s evidence. Her vocal range and extensive range of dance moves are impressive, and when she perches behind a keyboard for the aching ‘Numb’ and ‘Obsessions,’ her tale of lovers drifting apart, every word is bellowed back, showcasing Marina’s ability to tell stories that really connect with her audience.
Despite all this, too much pop dazzle can feel a bit excessive to a tired sun-beaten brain, and so for her encore Marina chooses a cover of 3OH!3’s ‘Starstrukk,’ somehow extracting pain and sadness from an obnoxious crunkcore tune, to the amazement of just about everyone.
However, here was no way someone as bubbly as Marina could end on that sort of a note. She duly sends us off into the summer night with ‘Mowgli’s Road,’ which is every bit as brilliantly unhinged as a song referencing the Jungle Book should be, with the deranged animal noises and whooping in the breakdown underlining Marina’s status as one of the most exciting and unique new voices in pop.
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