Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land

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This article is about the album. For the song, see Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land (song).
Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Marina - Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land.png
Studio album by
Marina
Released11 June 2021 (2021-06-11)
Genre
Length36:07
Label
Producer
Marina chronology
Love + Fear (Acoustic)
(2019) 		Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
(2021)
Singles from Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
  1. "Man's World"
    Released: 18 November 2020
  2. "Purge the Poison"
    Released: 14 April 2021
  3. "Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land"
    Released: 19 May 2021
  4. "Venus Fly Trap"
    Released: 9 June 2021

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is the fifth studio album by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina, released on 11 June 2021, through Atlantic Records. She began songwriting for the project in January 2020, around the time she released the soundtrack single "About Love". The album was preceded by the release of four singles, "Man's World", "Purge the Poison", the title track, and "Venus Fly Trap" with each one having a music video.

Background and development[]

Following the release of her fourth studio album Love + Fear in 2019, Marina embarked on a multi-leg tour and released an acoustic companion extended play (EP), Love + Fear (Acoustic).[1][2][3] She also began work on a fifth studio album, and confirmed her plans via an Instagram post, in January 2020.[4] 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).[5]

Music and lyrics[]

Ancient Dreams In a Modern Land has been described as a pop, electropop, and dance-pop record.[6][7][8][9] During songwriting sessions for the record, Marina was motivated by the mistreatment of women and LGBT individuals throughout history, and gathered further inspiration from the Salem witch trials.[10] The lyrics to the songs are wordy, and present more "vim and attitude" than the songs on Love + Fear.[9]

Songs[]

The album's title track is a pop rock and disco song with a "cinematic guitar riff".[11][12] Danielle Chelosky, a writer for Stereogum, compared it to Britney Spears' 2008 single "Womanizer".[13] "Man's World" was described as a dreamy and melodic alternative pop anthem.[10][14] Backed by a piano performance from Marina, she criticises the behaviour of men towards women and minorities.[10][15] "Purge the Poison" was called "an Earth Day anthem of sorts" by Billboard's Gab Ginsberg, due to its lyrics that speak of climate change.[16]

Several critics made comparisons between the songs on Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land and Marina's older albums. Entertainment Weekly called "Purge the Poison" a "callback" to The Family Jewels (2010).[17] Furthermore, Vogue's Keaton Bell said the lyrics to "Man's World" were similar to those of "Savages" from her third album, Froot (2015).[10] 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.[18]

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 the same day, with an expected release date for 11 June 2021.[19][20] It was released for digital download and streaming, and physically as a CD and three unique, collectible cassette tapes.[21][22] She also previewed "New America" two weeks ahead of the album's release, sharing a snippet of its audio via her social media accounts.[23]

Singles[]

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land was preceded by the release of three singles. The lead single, "Man's World", premiered on 18 November 2020, two months after Marina teased a different previously unreleased song titled "Happy Loner".[24][25] She originally intended to release "Man's World" in April 2020, to coincide with her performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, but the cancellation of the festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented it.[10] Commercially, it reached the lower rankings of the Official Charts Company's downloads and sales charts, and a top 40 chart in New Zealand.[26][27][28] The accompanying music video was directed by Alexandra Gavillet and inspired by the neoclassical works of English painter John William Godward.[10] Remixes of the song by Muna and Empress Of featuring Pabllo Vittar were released in January and February 2021, respectively.[29][30]

"Purge the Poison" was released as the album's second single on 14 April 2021, alongside the album announcement.[31] She had previously teased the song in a May 2020 social media post, where she previewed an early demo and some of its lyrics.[32] Its music video debuted during the same day, featuring Marina in an array of glittery and colorful outfits.[33] To promote the single, Marina established a website titled AllMyFriendsAreWitches.com, where fans could receive news updates regarding the parent album.[34] An alternate version of the song, featuring a new verse from Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, was released on 5 May.[35]

Marina teased a snippet of the album's title track on her Twitter account on 11 May 2021, before announcing that it would become the album's third single.[36][11] It was released on 19 May, coinciding with news that Marina will take part in a livestreaming concert, Ancient Dreams: Live from the Desert, scheduled to be broadcast on 12–13 June 2021.[37][38]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[39]
Metacritic79/100[40]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Arts Desk4/5 stars[9]
Clash8/10[8]
Dork3/5 stars[41]
Gigwise10/10 stars[6]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[42]
MusicOMH3/5 stars[43]
NME4/5 stars[44]
The Observer3/5 stars[45]
Pitchfork6.6/10[46]
Under the Radar8/10 stars[7]

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 79 based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[40] The Arts Desk's Thomas H. Green considered Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land to be Marina's best album, partly because of her newfound "mouth[iness]".[9] He called it an "outrageously enjoyable album" and was satisfied that her recent move to Los Angeles did not result in a musical direction that he referred to as "California smooth".[9] 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" Electra Heart era.[8] Vicky Greer, a contributor to Gigwise, 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.[6]

Red Dziri from The Line of Best Fit 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[s]".[42] He also enjoyed her "sense of hard-earned confidence" and sharper "trademark theatrical glam", following Love + Fear.[42] According to Dork'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.[41]

Track listing[]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[47] All tracks are written by Marina.

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land track listing
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land"
3:26
2."Venus Fly Trap"
  • Diamandis
  • Flannigan
2:38
3."Man's World"
3:28
4."Purge the Poison"
  • Decilveo
3:16
5."Highly Emotional People"Flannigan3:34
6."New America"
  • Flannigan
  • Diamandis
3:52
7."Pandora's Box"
  • Flannigan
  • Diamandis
3:32
8."I Love You but I Love Me More"Decilveo3:43
9."Flowers"Flannigan3:54
10."Goodbye"Flannigan4:42
Total length:36:07

Charts[]

Chart performance for Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[48] 38
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[49] 29
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[50] 74
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[51] 97
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[52] 33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[53] 43
Irish Albums (OCC)[54] 26
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[55] 51
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[56] 40
Scottish Albums (OCC)[57] 12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[58] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[59] 17
US Billboard 200[60] 94

Release history[]

Release dates and formats for Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 11 June 2021
Atlantic [21][22]
25 February 2022 LP [61]

References[]

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  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Goad, Emma (11 June 2021). "Marina Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land". Under the Radar. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
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  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Kinnett, Tristan (19 May 2021). "Marina Releases New Song 'Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land' and June 2021 Ancient Dreams Live From The Desert Live Stream". Mxdwn. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
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