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Broken English
Rock · 1980

Broken English

Marianne Faithfull

A jagged, synth-driven rebirth where a weathered voice navigates tales of addiction, infidelity, and political unrest with unflinching, raspy authority.

1980 · Antilles

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Broken English is the sound of a woman who has seen the bottom and decided to sing her way back up. It is a stark, icy, and utterly compelling record that transformed Marianne Faithfull from a 1960s relic into a modern icon of resilience. The music is a cold fusion of new wave synthesizers, post-punk rhythms, and reggae-inflected basslines, creating a sonic landscape that feels like a wet London street at 3:00 AM. It is sophisticated yet raw, polished in its production but jagged in its emotional delivery.

Moments Worth Listening For
the moment the jagged synth riff cuts through the title track's hazy intro
the transition from the polite folk-pop of her past to the gravelly, profanity-laced tirade of Why D'Ya Do It?
the haunting, mechanical pulse of The Ballad of Lucy Jordan capturing domestic entrapment
the stark, cynical weight she brings to the cover of Working Class Hero compared to the original
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Broken English sound next to the rest of Marianne Faithfull's catalogue?

Defiant+1.8σ

Defiant saturates this record notably more than the artist's norm.

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