Marina and the Diamonds is back.

Recently, Marina Diamandis (known professionally as Marina and the Diamonds) dropped her new single “FROOT” from the upcoming album of the same name. Diamandis’s new single blends two of her old styles perfectly– the lyrics are more like those from her debut, The Family Jewels, while the instrumentation and beats are similar to her sophomore effort, Electra Heart.

This is all fine with me. I enjoy both of Diamandis’s albums, as different as they are, for doing what they do well. The one thing that Diamandis has not improved on, however, is her music videos.

Obviously, Diamandis isn’t solely to blame– there are directors and producers who help her create these videos. Sometimes, though, I can’t help but wonder what she’s thinking when she sets out to make a new music video. Many of them are the same; Diamandis will be the main focus of the entire video. Sometimes, she’ll have backup dancers.

Most of the time, none of these videos tell any type of story.

This is the real problem. Diamandis is a very creative writer– a good chunk of her songs focus on the human experience, particularly her own, which is part of what makes her so appealing to fans. Diamandis speaks truthfully of her struggles, her early life, and others’ struggles.

None of this is reflected in her videos. The entirety of the music video for “The State of Dreaming” consists of Diamandis sitting on a chair making elaborate hand motions while singing; a filter gives the video a dream-like quality to match the lyrics of the song. This is as far as Diamandis and the producers go to give the video any meaning.

“FROOT” is similar, though it is a slight improvement over its predecessors. Diamandis sings in a mansion over the course of the song, going from a room with a mannequin to the main stairs and back again. It almost feels like she’s mocking herself, though, as she begins to dance with the mannequin at one point.

This isn’t to say all music videos have to tell a story. When music television began in the 70’s, quite a few of them did not incorporate stories. However, with the advent of MTV a decade later, stars such as Michael Jackson and Queen began including some type of story in their videos, revolutionizing the genre. More and more music videos had plotlines, and some of them began to focus more on the plot than the music itself, giving actors dialogue to act out while cutting the music in certain scenes.

If this were other pop stars, I’d be fine with the lack of story in Diamandis’s videos. Because it is Diamandis, though, I feel it’s a shame that her songs, which often have so much meaning and potential, are reduced to videos that don’t capture it.