"Handmade Heaven" is a song recorded and written by Welsh singer and songwriter Marina for her fourth studio album, Love + Fear (2019).
Musically, "Handmade Heaven" is a slow-building synth-pop, pop, and electro ballad that was compared to the works of Lana Del Rey, Lorde, and Madonna.
[6] Love + Fear serves as a double album that is composed of two segments, with each one exploring psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' theory that humans are only capable of experiencing the aforementioned two emotions.
[7] "Handmade Heaven" appears on the Love portion of the album, devoted to lyrics detailing positive thoughts and emotions, because it was described as a song about finding one's freedom.
A promotional CD single, intended for radio airplay, was distributed throughout the Benelux region of Europe in 2017 by Atlantic Records and the Warner Music Group.
[14] On 8 March 2019, two versions of a remix produced by Irish DJ Krystal Klear were released to digital music retailers and streaming services.
[18][4][19][20] Upon the release of "Handmade Heaven", Marina stated on Twitter that the song's sound would have little to no indication of what the rest of Love + Fear would be like.
[3] Paper's Katherine Gillespie compared the song to the works of Lana Del Rey and Madonna, specifically the latter's seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998).
"[18] The key of the song is in A major, with Marina's vocal range spanning an entire octave, from F3 to C5 in scientific pitch notation.
[3] During a track-by-track interview for Love + Fear with Apple Music, she revealed that climate change served as a main source of inspiration for the track: "I think people are suddenly becoming more aware of the natural world.
[23] During the refrain, she sings alongside several layers of her own vocals, creating a choir-sounding effect; she coos: "In this handmade heaven, I come alive / Blue birds forever, colour the sky".
[27] Kate Nicholson, for The Guardian, was impressed by the song and questioned if its appeal would be enough to make it commercially successful: "Whether other people will ever want to enter it is still open to debate, but her sharply insightful worldview is rare in pop and deserves to be heard.
[32] Elsewhere in Europe, the song debuted at number 92 on Greece's International Digital Singles component chart, compiled by the IFPI.
[34] Outside of Europe, "Handmade Heaven" reached number 25 on New Zealand's Hot Singles chart, according to Recorded Music NZ.
[41] Bailey Calfee from Nylon analysed the video's message, predicting that regardless of where Marina is, she is able to prosper and "find [...] solace in imagining her own paradise".
[27] Estonian production company Nafta posted a behind-the-scenes montage of leftover footage from the video shoot, exclusive to their website.
[38] A separate vertical video for "Handmade Heaven", also directed by Muller, was created, featuring Marina singing the song as projections of flowers are transposed over her face.
[44] Imaan Jalali from LA Excites, who saw her Los Angeles show, lauded the live rendition of "Handmade Heaven", noting how Marina seemed comfortable with the audience which helped reveal her "charmingly compelling personality".
[21] Additionally, he considered it a pleasant mood-setter for the evening and described it as "a lovely idyllic piece that is pleasant-sounding and ingratiated Marina to her audience".
[21] In observance of Earth Day in 2020, Marina self-recorded a live performance of "Handmade Heaven" and posted it to her various social media accounts.