Genre: Indie-pop/alternative
Label: Atlantic Records
Rating:8.5/10
Epitomizing the childhood ruined meme; this debut album takes tropes and words associated with infancy and innocence, retrofitting them with dark lyrics.
Cry Baby includes debut songs “Dollhouse” and “Carousel” which were featured in the marketing campaign for American Horror Story: Freak Show, garnering Melanie Martinez some much deserved attention.
A former contestant on The Voice, while she did not win season three, she has managed to be persistent and stick around for five years; avoiding the tidal wave of obscurity that a majority of the ex-contestants have gotten swept away in.
In that time, Martinez has solidified an interesting style not only in terms of her vocal talent, but also her fashion and aesthetic choices. The young artist finally manages to bottle her style without it losing any of its novelty and charm.
And then she takes that bottle and smashes you over the head with it. Not one for much subtlety, Martinez’s whimsical, snide, sassy, cotton candy sound lends a strange compliment to her overtly disturbing and fanatic lyricism.
Not all of the tracks hit hard, however. In fact, more than a few of them feel a bit too similar—a downside to having such a theme heavy album. As her blind audition on The Voice proved, in which she did an acoustic version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”, she does not need to be overproduced to be distinctive.
The tracks on Cry Baby that do stand out are not just party or radio fodder, they have subjects that range from emotional abuse to self-acceptance. “Pity Party”, the first single released ahead of the album, is a fun and slightly maniacal hit that plays around with Lesley Gore’s original pop song “It’s My Party”.
“ Dollhouse” and “Sippy Cup” seem to tell a continuous story of infidelity, depression and false pretenses. In “Tag, You’re It”, Martinez plays both a twisted predator and his victim as he assaults and kidnaps her.
With sarcasm, “Mrs.Potato Head” speaks to the culture of vanity that we maintain, most notably the desire for some girls to get cosmetic surgery at a young age—“It’s such a waste when little girls grow into their mother’s face.”
If you had not realized yet, Martinez—or the persona she puts on – is crazy. She is mostly likely the type of girlfriend that would readily burn your possessions if you break her heart.
I’m sure a handful of her songs are going to make their way onto people’s Halloween playlists this upcoming holiday. If Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, Lorde or Halsey are in your niche, give Martinez a listen.
Zhana Johnson
Senior Features Editor