top of page

Butterfly - MARINA

Alice Hitchens
3 days ago

For the first time in 3-years, MARINA (formally known as Marina and the Diamonds) has released new music; notably, her first release as an independent artist, under her new label Queenie Records, in the form of her single Butterfly. The Mic's Alice Hitchens discusses her thoughts.



Offering a blend of ethereal sounds and harmonisations, with introspective and raw emotive lyrics, the new single is a lush recording which exhibits MARINA’s craft through a combination of deeply personal and universally resonant lyrics. Butterfly unfolds like a sonic metamorphosis, exploring themes of transformation, self-discovery, and resilience with MARINA herself stating to Plastik that her music is now coming from a ‘different place within [her]self’ and how she is ‘more satisfied than ever’ with her music. But does Butterfly soar as high as some MARINA’s other hits?

"Butterfly unfolds like a sonic metamorphosis, exploring themes of transformation, self-discovery, and resilience"

Whilst some critics regard the new single as ‘forgettable’, the song describes a poetic metamorphosis of the singer breaking free from multiple chains of her life, and transforms into a butterfly from a metaphorical cocoon. In 2024, MARINA cleared all of her social media accounts and subtly hinted towards a butterfly theme, captioning her first post ‘IN CHRYSALIS’, suggesting a change in her life or music; it could be skepticized that this was a nod towards the fact that she was creating music for the first time as an independent artist. 


The song opens with hypnotic instrumentals and haunting vocals, inviting listeners into a world of both vulnerability and strength. Speaking from deep emotion, the song reflects potentially relatable experiences with the opening line: ‘Sometimes people gonna let you down/Not everybody's meant to stick around/I feel the pain and you feel it too/But I won't let nobody treat me like you do’. These lyrics evoke the sense of self-reliance and an obvious theme of metamorphosis; leaving behind a person or world that is not meant to be for her, but instead to transport to a place where she can thrive, spread her wings and finally transform into a 'perfect butterfly' after being put down for so long. Specifically, the lyric 'I feel the pain’ shows that whilst transformation and change is positive, it can be paired with feelings of pain and fear.


The chorus moves away from ethereal-aura sounds and instead turns to a catchy pop beat, exploring the change that with a new relaxed attitude and a life or person left behind; MARINA can finally fly freely and floats ‘on a breeze’. The singer takes comfort and exudes a carefree attitude by stating that ‘you just never see me spread my wings’, showing a past figure will never see her success up close and won’t take pleasure in benefitting from her accomplishments anymore. This may possibly be a comment on a record label or someone else taking advantage of her past triumphs and previously produced hits.


As the 4 minute song progresses, MARINA says 'Goodbye, goodbye' as she bids farewell to a life that once trapped her, with the message showing as she tells the listener or her capturer to ‘watch me shine like a star', once again evoking the butterfly imagery of transformation and a new-found shining beauty, radiating with an impenetrable force. To add to the obvious metaphor and transformation of a butterfly, she describes the colours of her transformation 'Red, gold, orange, blue/White, green, violet too'. This may be a reference to her previous album Froot which featured these colours on her cover art and also as she commented on the album "Maybe I was ready to change. Maybe I was ready to leave a lot of things I'd held onto in the past behind’’. However, the song may also allude to her ever-changing presence and a new form of life in colour as she transforms into a better version of herself.


The theme of self-reliance comes to a head near the end of the song in the last verse, when MARINA says ‘to become a butterfly/ parts of me had to die’, showing that whilst putting yourself first, some parts have to die or fall away in order to become stronger, better and changed; as she later says ‘I’ll fly’. Making this seem like an escape or journey as she travels into the next stage of her life and frees herself from this mysterious figure which was once her captor.

 

Whilst some have criticised the song for being underwhelming or simplistic, personally, the song expressed the feeling of an unintentional change which happens from past pain, trauma or relationship. Though not all critics or listeners may connect with the track, some citing it as ‘corny’ and ‘shallow’, I think the song resonates with many peoples' own experiences of transformations, whether that be through consciously removing a friend or loved one form your life or subconsciously leaving a part of yourself or your life behind for the better. With the freedom from escaping these heralding a change, the result can be both internal and external transformation. Alongside her quirky melody and harmonising throughout the song, Butterfly connected with me on a deeper level, expressing the feelings of letting people go, no matter how tough, for the greater good of personal revival.

 

Overall, whilst somewhat different from her previously released music, MARINA takes us through a journey on this song exploring the pain, freedom and beauty that comes from transformation and metamorphisms. The single shows inspiring thoughts and feeling packaged inside a quirky pop hit. Whilst I think the single could have been better through lyrics, with a deeper meaning or a more expansive chorus that could have made it more emotionally powerful or wider reaching, the single does create excitement about MARINA’s return to music and her upcoming album.

 

Alice Hitchens

 

Edited by Bethany Coldwell

Image courtesy of MARINA on Facebook, Video courtesy of MARINA on Youtube

Interview references courtesy of the following, through links:

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

bottom of page