HMV Next Big Thing: Marina and the Diamonds

Around February, following a full month of “sound of next year” articles and programmes, surveys and round-ups, one starts to tire of getting told time and again what The! New! Thing! is. So for the HMV Next Big Thing concerts to be launching right now risks running up against jadedness – doubly so when all the acts on a bill to one degree or another are laden with 1980s pop references like virtually every other new band on the circuit right now.

Both the support bands at the Garage – sorry, the Relentless Garage, for the venerable spit'n'sawdust indie venue is now all new and shiny after an energy-drink-sponsored revamp – were very much in the current style. Like the ruthlessly-overxposed Delphic and a dozen other current barely-distinguishable groups currently led by young men with neatly-parted hair, both Clock Opera and Fenech-Soler owed large debts to The Cure, New Order and various other hip 80s acts. Openers Clock Opera, however, were far more interesting.

Their young-man-with-neatly-parted-hair stood out by virtue of an alarmingly bushy backwoods beard, and the two skinny, moustachioed fellows flanking him had nailed the “1970s speed dealer from Arizona” look rather impressively. They were clearly intensely into what they were doing, and their rigid grooves genuinely grooved while their vocal harmonies were quite attention-grabbing. The influence of more recent dance/rock hybrid acts like Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem was as audible as the 80s sounds, but Clock Opera, especially when picking up teatrays and tin teapots to use as percussion instruments, also managed to sound like themselves as often as they did anyone else, which is always commendable.

Not so Fenech-Soler, sadly. While they mined the exact same set of influences, they didn't manage to look or sound convincing. Their sequinned sweaters just made them look like students dressed for the Thursday night retro disco, and though their YMWNPH had a powerful voice, his affected mannerisms and expressive dance moves just made him feel like one of the naffer 80s mainstream popstars. So while Fenech-Soler no doubt kept hipper reference points in their minds at all times, in fact they just came over like Howard Jones or Kajagoogoo given an electro-rave makeover.

Marina and the Diamonds, however – thankfully – doesn't sound like anyone else, despite a general 80s feel to the band's sound. I say “doesn't” rather than “don't” because early on in the set she told us clearly “I am Marina and the Diamonds” and her backing group of YMWNPH didn't seem to mind at all. But then it'd be hard to begrudge such a performer her hefty share of the limelight, because the Welsh singer is an absolutely gripping presence onstage. Flirtatious and actressy, with her sleepy Cleopatra eyes and wide grin made up simply and dramatically to accentuate every expression, she simply and naturally drew attention towards herself – the complete opposite to the brattish “look at me!” affectations of Florence Welch, the current star she is most often compared to. Viewed from the side of the stage it was a very different story, her concentration and attention very visible - but viewed from the correct angle, from the crowd, her charisma blasted out like full beam headlights.

And unlike Florence's harsh, demanding tones, Marina's vocals were those of a singer's singer, showing a natural talent expertly harnessed. That is to say, they had as much obvious artifice and control as her makeup and movements, but her sudden switching of register or clipping of notes felt like they were done with a real musical sense as much as for dramatic effect. Vitally, the songs are fantastic too; especially played live, any resemblance to 80s pop was revealed as passing, the synthesiser-rich arrangements never sounding like modish affectation but all working entirely in the service of those songs. On record occasionally a little over-finessed and glossy, they came completely to life on stage, even stimulating a little singing along in the slightly stiff music industry dominated crowd on a couple of occasions. Even if the set-closing debut single “Mowgli's Road” wasn't a gigantic smash, and current single “Hollywood” looks like it may fall just shy of the top ten this week, plenty of other songs, especially “Shampain Sleeper” and “I Am Not A Robot”, feel like potential huge hits in waiting. For once, something we were told was going to be The Next Big Thing actually felt like it truly deserves to be.

Marina and the Diamonds on Amazon