Marina at Mission Ballroom 09/30/19

There are some musicians out there who are simply timeless. Each album acts as a singular stamp of a certain place in time while seamlessly transcending the pitfall of quantity over quality. Marina, who played at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on Monday, September 30, is one of those artists. Once going by Marina and the Diamonds, the British pop singer and songwriter Marina Diamandis now goes by the single name of Marina. While her name may be slowly shrinking in size, her ability to captivate an audience and write incredibly infectious pop tunes has grown tenfold over the years. With the recent release of her fourth full-length studio album Love + Fear, Marina has been making her way across the country and enchanting audiences with her charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. The artist blends self-confidence and humility in an endearing and fabulously British way. Marina delivered a set list that was simply divine, incorporating new music like “Orange Trees,” “Karma,” and “Superstar” alongside back-to-back fan favorites like “How to Be a Heartbreaker,” “I Am Not a Robot,” and “Oh No!” A voice as pure as the recordings, the singer doesn’t waste energy on too much movement as she ensures every vocal note is on point. She constantly has several backup dancers swirling around her, taking her lyrics to a place of expression through modern movement and dance, all eyes are fixated on Marina. Taking the massive stage at the Mission Ballroom is an intimidating mission, and the majority of them incorporate an entire band and backup singers, like vocalist Brandi Carlile just the week before. For a solo artist like Marina, though, standing center-stage under the spotlight couldn’t look more beautifully comfortable. Best known for her upbeat, almost bubblegum pop sound, Marina’s songs often act as a subtle commentary to societal roles and rules.

The pagodas and the palaces dressed in gold leaf Hide the damages Spot the Geisha as she balances Life’s a cakewalk, full of challenges

Go to Russia, see the Red Square Lenin’s body lying dead there From Kyoto, Hiroshima Watch the black cloud crawling nearer

There were riots in America Just when things were getting better All the things I’ve done and seen Still, I don’t know what life means

-Marina, “To Be Human”

From her first album, The Family Jewels, released in 2009, through the persona of Electra Heart, through the frivolous and flighty Froot, Marina has hit another level of insight and artistic expression with Love + Fear. If Marina has any fear that fans and critics alike don’t love her, she proved at Mission Ballroom that she has nothing to be shy about.

*All photos by Veronica L. Holyfield