Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is a pop, electropop, and dance-pop record that explores themes such as feminism, global warming, misogyny, heartbreak, and racism.
Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom compared it to her previous works.
The album was preceded by four singles: "Man's World", "Purge the Poison", the title track, and "Venus Fly Trap", all of which accompanying a music video.
[9] Writing sessions took at Marina's home in West Hollywood, which Decilveo refer to her as "the real deal and, in this strange pop market, it's refreshing to have somebody with lyrics that are going against the grain.
[12][13][14][15] During songwriting sessions for the record, Marina was motivated by the mistreatment of women and LGBT individuals throughout history, and gathered further inspiration from the Salem witch trials.
[16][28] Some lyrics reference former actress Marilyn Monroe or controversial subject matters, such as Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei.
[31] Derrick Rossignol from Uproxx said that the song's chorus ("Mother Nature's dying, nobody's keeping score / I don't want to live in a man's world anymore") confirms that "Marina put her money where her mouth is", in regards to her decision to work with female musicians on her fifth album.
[34][36] As Mother Nature, she opens the song, addressing events such as United States wars, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic: "Virus come, fires burn / Until human beings learn / From every disaster / You are not my master.
"[37] Other lyrics in the song reference memorable popular culture events, such as Britney Spears shaving her head in 2007, and Harvey Weinstein's role in the Me Too movement.
[39][40] "New America" includes an arrangement of frantic pizzicato strings, ominous choirs and a faint poltergeist special effects in the background.
[38] A song written in response to the murder of George Floyd, the track shares a similar theme with "Purge the Poison", criticizing various injustices underneath American history.
[38] The representation of Pandora in the track was lauded as it "transcends the misogyny of the original myth into a symbol of power and independence in Marina's hands.
[41] Levine summarized the message in "Venus Fly Trap" as a "tongue-in-cheek self empowerment banger" that makes reference to her second studio album, Electra Heart (2012).
[16] Furthermore, Dimitra Gurduiala from Atwood Magazine said "Savages" is a masterpiece of a song that Love + Fear lacked, but that "Purge the Poison" suggested a return to this type of era for Marina.
[44][45] She also previewed "New America" two weeks ahead of the album's release, sharing a snippet of its audio via her social media accounts.
The lead single, "Man's World", premiered on 18 November 2020, two months after Marina teased a different previously unreleased song titled "Happy Loner".
[51][52][53] The accompanying music video was directed by Alexandra Gavillet and inspired by the neoclassical works of English painter John William Godward.
[61][18] It was released on 19 May, coinciding with news that Marina will take part in a livestreaming concert, Ancient Dreams: Live from the Desert, scheduled to be broadcast on 12–13 June 2021.
[70] The Arts Desk's Thomas H. Green considered Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land to be Marina's best album, partly because of her newfound "mouth[iness]".
[15] He called it an "outrageously enjoyable album" and was satisfied that her recent move to Los Angeles did not result in a musical direction that he referred to as "California smooth".
[15] Jessica Fynn of Clash felt the album reflected Marina's desire to "reclaim her sense of self", in addition to her "natural instinct for songwriting and her lion-like resilience"; she also likened songs "Venus Fly Trap", "Man's World", and "I Love You but I Love Me More" for recalling her "wildly defiant and wonderfully juvenile" Electra Heart era.