photo courtesy of Marina V

Album Review of Marina V: In V Minor

Long-time readers know Marina V is a Blog favorite. Her expressive, soaring, sweetly clear yet powerful vocals combine well with her frequently-flowing songwriting. And, while she can and does show versatility and range when she stretches herself to faster-tempo and stylistically different songs seemingly effortlessly, Marina does have a musical sweet spot. It’s a designated lane on the soaring pop ballad musical highway that’s reserved for Marina and no one else, and it’s where her legion of fans expect a majority of her music to reside. In V Minor spends most of its time in this lane, perhaps more than her recent albums do, but it’s really hard to complain, especially as she swerves around within the lane quite a bit. And it’s fun to hear Marina release an album of new material mostly within her “greatest hits” zone sometimes. Plus, there are those aforementioned cool twists she puts on her subgenre, too. With depth and darkness, most of the time, you’re not likely to expect; she always does that. She’s Marina V.

image courtesy of Marina V

The first song in the collection is the beautifully, hauntingly drawn-out “Cold Cold Winter.” Marina’s piano skills combine with the guitarwork of special guest Jim “Kimo” West and the most beautiful edge of Marina’s voice to deliver a memorable ballad.

It’s followed by the sole cover on the album, a Marina V-tempoed rendition of “We Belong,” the Pat Benatar hit that was penned by the songwriting team of Lowen and Navarro. Marina blows the lid off of this track, and it features a truly special guest, as she sings it as a duet with the song’s cowriter Dan Navarro.

photo courtesy of Marina V

Next up is another treat, a fan favorite, a rare (well, infrequent) Marina-penned full-on love song, “143.” It’s sort of the warm side of “Cold Cold Winter,” suitably placed with “We Belong” serving as a transition between the two tracks that are simultaneously similar and polar opposites. (Polar… winter… get it? Yeah, maybe not.)

“Rain My Love” opens with a semi-haunting piano, vocal, and string arrangement, a broad-sounding, soaringly-building sound that hints a bit at Scorpions’ “Wind of Change,” hinting at that sort of power but reining it in and polishing it with a softer edge. (Marina does a powerful rendition of “Wind of Change,” by the way, but it’s not on this album; it’s on Marina’s extended 2017 release of Inner Superhero.)

The power doesn’t dissipate on “Talk to You Sometimes,” it’s just redirected. Another song about strength and emotion – something Marina excels at writing and performing – this song will undoubtedly put a lump in your throat lyrically, and then it contains the best three-syllable delivery of the word “steel” I can recall, which helps release the tension. It’s all about the details.

photo courtesy of Marina V

The third weather-titled song of the first six, “Love is Like Snow,” is a bit lighter, more playful, and hopeful. Still a slow song, but one you could move around a dancefloor to if you’d like, and the occasional twirl wouldn’t be at all out of place.

Next up is one of my favorite songs on the disc, “LKD.” And fortunately, like most of us, I’m not out in public much these days, or you might be concerned when you hear me singing the lyrics under my breath, “Live. Kill. Die.” “LKD” sounds like is was specifically written for a James Bond movie, with a breathy, cold, calculated delivery. Or perhaps it was created as an entry into a competition seeking a new theme song for the KGB. I actually researched the answer to this. After noting the Bond-esque edge to the song, I checked Marina’s song notes to see what inspired this track, and indeed, as an assignment in a songwriting group, “LKD” was written to sound like an end-credit song for a James Bond movie. I’m not sure how I feel, now, knowing that it was contrived bloodlust – not the actual thing – driving this song, but I’m pretty sure the word I’m looking for is “relieved.”

photo by Justin Higuchi; photo courtesy of Marina V

Next up is another tune I often find stuck in my head, the encouraging “Back to Sunshine.” In addition to its hooks, the tune has Easter eggs for hardcore Marina V fans, as she slips old album and song titles into the lyrics of this song. It’s an neat trick, accomplishing that while writing a memorable, hopeful tune that’s engaging and catchy even without the insider information.

Marina returns to the dark side next with “Sick Sick Love.” The song cleverly builds tension and suspense musically, vocally, and lyrically, proving interestingly compelling, with just enough enthusiasm to suggest the song’s protagonist may not actually be interested in leaving this sick, sick love behind. Given the subject matter, this song is much more fun than it probably should be; I may be wrong, but I envision a mischievous glint in Marina’s eye while she recorded it.

photo by Arsen Memetov; photo courtesy of Marina V

“No Time to Say Goodbye” returns to a semi-haunting tone. It’s actually the theme song for Bill Adler Jr.’s novella of the same name, and its sad desperation rather well matches the emotion you’d expect from the book’s plot summary. (No, I haven’t read the book, but I’m intrigued.)

Finally, the album closes with two lullabies. First, “My Love Lullaby,” a sweetly encouraging song about unconditional love. And then the Russian-language “Лунная Колыбельная (Russian Moonlight Lullaby).” No, I don’t understand the song, but thanks to the translation, it’s also quite sweet, and very much a sing-to-your baby song.

photo courtesy of Marina V

That’s it. Over too soon? In V Minor is yet another dependably strong Marina V disc, as she has perfected the ability to release only top-notch material. This one, again, resides mostly within her sweet spot when it comes to tempo and taking advantage of her soaring voice and piano skills. The tone and mood ranges from very, very dark to light – to be fair, its touch is mostly soft and generally hopeful, but the breadth of emotion makes the album complex and enjoyable, like an interesting friend. Definitely a pleasure to have this disc as a listening companion during a pandemic.

Of course, as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, Marina has long been a Blog favorite. For more Blog coverage of Marina V, see my 2018 review of her album Born to the Stars. Before that, in 2015, as article #5 of my Blog-launching “Road Back to Music Journalism” series, I reviewed Marina’s Inner Superhero album and a 2014 house concert.

photo by Arsen Memetov; photo courtesy of Marina V

Looking Ahead

Marina does twice-weekly livestreams – “The Marina V Show” – on Twitch. Started during her pregnancy, Marina perfected the format well before the pandemic hit, interacting with fans via chat and playing old and new favorites. Husband/guitarist/cowriter Nick and “Baby V” make appearances, as well.

If/when live shows return, you’ll be able to find information on the “Tour” page of Marina’s website. Currently, you’ll find dates and times of the twice-weekly “Marina V Show” livestreams. Generally, Sundays at 12:30 PM PST (3:30 PM EST) and Thursdays at 7:00 PM PST (10:00 PM EST).

Marina has also been on Patreon for several years. Her “2 Songs a Month Club” gives patrons two new songs (one original and one cover) each month for as little as $1 per song ($2 per month). Of course, higher tiers offer additional membership perks.

photo by Franz Salvatierra; photo courtesy of Marina V

Marina V is an international, award-winning singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. Her music has been featured in television shows and movies. You’ve probably heard some of her music without realizing who wrote or performed it. She’s one of those L.A. artists, one of the performers who is one right place-at-the-right time away from being a household name. Suffice it to say, she’s exceptionally talented. Of course, I discovered her music and became a fan in much the same way you may be now, randomly finding a review or a music clip and, after a bit of investigation and song-sampling, realizing I had stumbled across someone special.

photo by Erik Fischer; photo courtesy of Marina V

Longtime Blog readers may also recall that Marina was one of the artists I featured in the nine-part “Road Back to Music Journalism” series I wrote to launch this Blog in the fall of 2015. This CD and house concert review was item number five on my nine-part journey back. The follow-up to that album, Inner Superhero, is Marina’s new release, Born to the Stars.

Album Review of Marina V: Born to the Stars

Marina’s voice is strong and versatile. Her trademark is a quickly-identifiable, breathy vocal delivery, and many of her popular songs are the slow-tempo, soaring songs you’d expect to contain those vocals. A 10-song album format, however, can show her range and versatility, as she mixes rocker power and uptempo pop styles that reflect the variety of influences you’d expect from an artist with Marina’s clear star power – that transcendent quality you know is there but can’t quite pin down. Born to the Stars explores the rough-edged rocker influences, the pop hookiness, the hint of pop-danceable energy, all while remaining rooted in classical influences (she’s a pianist, after all) and folky traces that creep into her keyboard- and guitar-driven ballad and light pop-rock tracks. As is the case with so many of my favorite artists, Marina V has an identifiable core sound while incorporating a variety of influences.

cover photo by Evelina Pentcheva; image courtesy of Marina V

The new album kicks off with power and authority, the initial release off the album (supported by a video sporting cameos from a lot of A-list [and B-list] musicians singing along to the music), the title track, “Born to the Stars” (featuring Árstíðir). Marina’s voice can be so sweet and crystal clear that it’s nice when she balances the softer songs with tracks like this one, a stadium-filling rock ‘n roll song with a vocal edge. There’s an ’80s pop flavor and an Imagine Dragons-esque soaring-music-wall roar providing the arena-caliber bigness, with Marina’s rich, tuneful vocal carving the melody weaving through the big sound. Indeed, this is either a concert-opener or an encore song, one that’s meant to bring a crowd to its feet.

photo by Erik Fischer; photo courtesy of Marina V

The following “I Am Iron” is a nice transition to the softer songs on the album. It’s edgy, with dance-pop/rock-type of power and some of the soft, sweet, clearly soaring power vocals just a handful of vocalists can pull off.

It’s that softening of the vocal the leads well into the ever-softer, more saccharinely-pleading “Be My Light.” The expressive, emotional vocals are extraordinarily classical in nature, as is the piano. You can imagine a music video with a grand piano, a mostly-empty ballroom with large windows, curtains flowing in the breeze, perhaps a starry sky outside. Yes, it’s one of those grand, big, sweeping ballads. Classical-driven popular music.

photo by Emily Hanley; photo courtesy of Marina V

Next up is “Together Alone,” another favorite of mine, this one a folky soft pop swayer that serves as a commentary on the solitude of modern life.

And then the album gets super-ballady for a while, soaring behind Marina’s vocal power, all the while maintaining lightness and conveying tremendous emotion. “Fire in the Sky” has some of that booming pop-balladness (the sound that often recalls bands like Imagine Dragons for me). “Beautiful Forever” is so sweet, strong, and touching. “Good” has one of those big-empty-room, piano-ballady openings, which the richness of Marina’s soft vocal carrying the day as it displays both fragility and determined strength in support of its emotional message.

photo by Erik Fischer; photo courtesy of Marina V

“Bring It On” picks up where “Good” left off, but this time sporting a rhythmic music bed of soft pop power carrying the emotional rises and falls.

“Autumn Song” is the Russian-language song in this collection. And perhaps it’s just me, but with the rhythm of the music and Marina’s pianowork, this makes me think of a song that might accompany a ballerina music box. Or perhaps, at a fancy costume ball, it might be played during a dramatic ballroom dance.

Marina closes the collection with a cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The soft edges of her voice and the unique tempo Marina uses in her phrasings sometimes become most apparent when she covers other people’s songs, and they’re what make her covers truly unique, identifiably Marina V. This is one of those Marina V covers I enjoy immensely as its own song, even though the original is so iconic. (Her cover of Scorpions’ “Wind of Change,” which appears on her extended 2017 release of Inner Superhero, is another such tune.)

photo courtesy of Marina V

In the end, the rock ‘n roll power at the beginning of Born to the Stars and the softer, more balladic and slower tempo power that inhabits the middle and latter portions of the album result in a satisfying, beginning-to-end listen. They showcase the talent that has earned Marina a fair level of recognition within the music business and has garnered her music placement in video productions. You’ll wonder why you’ve never heard of her before. Of course, that’s the reason for this review – to introduce you to one of those top-shelf talents who’s still flying somewhat under the radar. Seriously, give this album a listen, sample some of Marina’s music. You’ll be glad you did.

Looking Ahead

photo by Amelia Yokel; photo courtesy of Marina V

I can also vouch for her exceptional live shows. Whether in an intimate setting or on a big stage, Marina V delivers a rock concert performance you’ll long remember.

Check out the “Tour” page of Marina’s website for upcoming shows, and check back regularly as she adds new dates. Currently, the only spring shows listed are an April 22nd afternoon gig in Woodland Hills, CA and a May 11th show (opening for Tiffany) in Big Bear Lake, CA. Marina’s summer shows scheduled so far are June 23rd at The South Bay Festival of the Arts in Torrance, CA; a June 24th “Concert at My House” (these intimate dinner concerts sound fun!) in Valencia, CA; and an August 3rd through 5th sequence of shows in Big Bear Lake, CA (3rd), Mesquite, NV (4th), and Las Vegas, NV (5th). Since I’ve been following her music the last few years, I’ve noticed that Marina plays frequently on the west coast, regularly in and around Illinois (where she got her U.S. start), and periodically books European tours. Catch her when you can, and on the rarer occasions you find her performing elsewhere, be absolutely sure not to miss her.

Marina’s Patreon

Marina also has a “2 Songs a Month Club” via Patreon. For as little as $1 per song ($2 per month), you’ll receive 2 songs each month. Of course, greater pledges earn greater rewards. Her club members received the Born to the Stars album when it was released. Of course, some of the songs were monthly releases along the way. Rather interesting was being able to witness a couple steps of the evolution of “I Am Iron” via the club. Once you’ve discovered Marina’s music, it’s a neat way to support a new favorite musician. She’s not the only musician doing this, but I really do like the approach of offering a new song or two each month, as Marina has adopted, as a Patreon format.