• Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Apr 26, 2019
Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
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  1. May 2, 2019
    80
    As the first offering of a new stage in her career, Love + Fear not only reveals its creator as newly hopeful, but it also gives hope that future efforts might be carved in a similar fashion. Marina's Electra heart still beats, it's just pumping smoother and with a confidence born from a renewed and mature perspective.
  2. Apr 29, 2019
    70
    Love is where the album falls short of delivering--containing most of the pre-release singles and the mainstream Clean Bandit collaboration ‘Baby’--there are few moments where it feels like the signature Marina. ... The Fear half of the album is riddled with concern and confusion about life itself and the darker emotions that come with it. Opener ‘Believe In Love’ sits near the top of Marina’s most captivating songs.
  3. 70
    On LOVE + FEAR, Marina shoots for stripped-bare big pop, and for the most part, she achieves it, but various clichéd lyrics occasionally stop her sincerity in its tracks.
  4. May 17, 2019
    60
    As ever with Diamandis, there’s some decent pop music here, but it seems like we’re still waiting for her to produce that genuine killer album, Diamonds or no Diamonds.
  5. 60
    Love is a pleasant although occasionally overly earnest capsule collection of pop sounds where Diamantis proves herself to be the master of the “brief pause... and gentle drop” technique. ... Her voice skitters across songs with a frostiness reminiscent of Madonna’s Ray of Light era, and sometimes it feels like a lecture being delivered into the mirror: everyone’s just like you, no one’s happy, enjoy your life.
  6. 60
    ‘True’ is the only real misstep on the record’s first half: a preachy self-love anthem that feels like it might’ve come together without Marina thinking how the lyrics sound when sang out loud, but it’s quickly passed over when ‘To Be Human’ arrives.
  7. Apr 29, 2019
    54
    That Marina--the lyricist who wasn’t afraid to detail the taste of toothpaste on a lover’s tongue, the vocalist who wasn’t afraid to punctuate a sentence with a feral shriek--has gone missing. The temptation of safe is undeniable, but mononyms are earned by embracing risk.
  8. Q Magazine
    May 14, 2019
    40
    There are suggestions of better directions not taken. [Jul 2019, p.113]
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 343 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 36 out of 343
  1. Apr 29, 2019
    10
    Marina is finally back after a 4 year hiatus! Love + Fear shows her evolution as an artist transitioning from a more laid back production to aMarina is finally back after a 4 year hiatus! Love + Fear shows her evolution as an artist transitioning from a more laid back production to a full modern day production pop record. Songs like “Soft to be strong” “To be human” and “Too Afraid” show the raw emotions that MARINA has always delivered off her previous records. The record is fun playful and fresh. Full Review »
  2. Apr 29, 2019
    3
    The album sounds very fake to me. It's as if Marina sings about subjects she does not really know about. Definitely disappointed me
  3. Apr 29, 2019
    0
    It's just not what I was expecting from her and due to all the noise she was making about I thought It was going to be amazing but she cameIt's just not what I was expecting from her and due to all the noise she was making about I thought It was going to be amazing but she came put with basic lyrics and beats, worse than Electra Heart. Definitely not worth it. Full Review »