Handmade Heaven

"Handmade Heaven" is a song by Welsh singer Marina, and her first single as a lead artist where she is not credited as Marina and the Diamonds. It was released on 8 February 2019 as the lead single from her fourth studio album Love + Fear.[4] It is her first single as a solo lead artist since "Blue" in 2015; her last appearance was on English electronic band Clean Bandit's 2018 single "Baby". Written solely by Marina, it was produced by Joel Little.

"Handmade Heaven"
Single by Marina
from the album Love + Fear
Released8 February 2019 (2019-02-08)
Format
Genre
Length3:29
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Marina Diamandis
Producer(s)Joel Little
Marina singles chronology
"Baby"
(2018)		 "Handmade Heaven"
(2019)		 "Superstar"
(2019)
Music video
"Handmade Heaven" on YouTube

Background

About the song, Marina said on Twitter: "When people hear the first song they'll probably think 'Oh, I think I know what this album is gonna sound like'. But they have noooooo idea".[5] It is her first solo single since "Blue" (2015),[1] and serves as the lead single from her "contemporary pop" fourth studio album.[6]

Composition

"Handmade Heaven" is a "melodramatic" and "ethereal" pop[1][2] and electro[3] lullaby that contains an operatic form.[1][7] The song was written by the singer and was produced by Joel Little. It contains layered vocals that create a "hymnal effect" in the song's verses.[1] Katherine Gillespie, writing for Paper, compared the song to the work of Lana Del Rey and Madonna's 1998 studio album Ray of Light.[2] Pranav Trewn of Consequence of Sound compared the song to Lorde.[7] Lyrically, the song is about an untouchable paradise.[6]

Critical reception

Mike Wass of Idolator described the song as "achingly pretty and not at all indicative of what's in store for us on her 4th LP."[3] Jordan Miller, writing for Breathe Heavy, praised Diamandis' songwriting, stating that "a song about daydreaming feels pretty perfect."[6] Carolyn Bernucca of Complex magazine highlighted "Handmade Heaven" as one of the best songs of the week, saying Diamandis "sounds as divine as her single's title would suggest", while describing the song as "dreamy and romantic".[8]

Promotion

Marina teased the track for several days on her Twitter, first stating that the title of her next single began with the letter "H". Fans later found the title through Spotify, and Marina confirmed the title, tweeting that her management called her fanbase "the Sherlock Holmes of fanbases" after finding it.[9] On 8 February, an accompanying music video was released.

Music video

The music video for "Handmade Heaven" was directed by Sophie Muller.[10] It was filmed in Tallinn, Estonia, and was released the morning of the single's release.[11] The video sees Marina dancing through a "picturesque" snowscape while wearing red lipstick and a red puffer.[2] Robin Murray of Clash called the video "striking" and featuring "a fragile, human, but emphatically creative MARINA."[12]

Track listing
  • Digital download[4]
  1. "Handmade Heaven" - 3:29
  • Digital download[13]
  1. "Handmade Heaven" (Krystal Klear Remix) – 6:57

Personnel

Adapted from Tidal.[14]

  • Marina – lead artist, vocals, songwriter
  • Joel Little – production, engineering, keyboards, synthesizer, drum programming, percussion
  • Dan Grech-Marguerat – additional programming, mixing
  • Dave Kutch – mastering

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
France Downloads (SNEP)[15] 196
Greece International Digital Singles (IFPI)[16] 92
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[17] 25
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[18] 46
UK Download (Official Charts Company)[19] 52

Release history
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Various 8 February 2019
Original Atlantic [4]
8 March 2019 Krystal Klear remix [13]

References
  1. "Marina Returns With 'Handmade Heaven,' First Solo Song in 4 Years: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. "Watch the New Video for Marina's 'Handmade Heaven'". Paper. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  3. Wass, Mike (8 February 2019). "Marina Returns With The Lush, Typically Poetic 'Handmade Heaven'". Idolator. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  4. "Handmade Heaven by MARINA on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  5. Copsey, Rob (5 February 2019). "Marina has announced her new single Handmade Heaven so let's look back at her Top 5 biggest songs". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  6. Miller, Jordan (7 February 2019). "Marina Finds A Piece Of Paradise On New Ballad, "Handmade Heaven": Listen". BreatheHeavy. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  7. "MARINA drops new single 'Handmade Heaven': Stream". Consequence of Sound. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  8. Bernucca, Carolyn (9 February 2019). "The Best New Music This Week". Complex. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  9. Nied, Mike (4 February 2019). "Our Savior! Marina's New Single Is Called 'Handmade Heaven'". Idolator. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  10. Moore, Sam (8 February 2019). "Marina is back, but without the Diamonds – watch the snow-covered video for 'Handmade Heaven'". NME. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  11. "MARINA returns with blissful new single 'Handmade Heaven'". The Fader. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  12. "MARINA Ends Her Silence With 'Handmade Heaven'". Clash. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  13. "iTunes - Music - Handmade Heaven (Krystal Klear Remix) - Single by MARINA". iTunes Store.
  14. "Try the TIDAL Web Player". Tidal. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  15. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 7, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  16. "Charts". web.archive.org. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  17. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  19. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.