Melanie Martinez is one-of-a-kind. She can be compared to Marina & the Diamonds, but what she does is her own. That shines through on her full-length debut. She isn’t really happy on the album. On “Dollhouse,” she tells the tale of a family (Cry Baby’s) torn apart by addiction and infidelity. On “Mrs. Potato Head,” she tears apart society’s beauty stereotypes (“little girls are learning to… pucker up their lips until they suffocate”). And on “Pity Party” (the highlight for me), she samples Leslie Gore’s breakout hit and sings about a birthday party for herself at which she is the only guest.
The instruments aren’t the highlight (most of the songs are stripped-down instrument-wise, possible exceptions being percussion and sound samples) – it’s her voice and lyrics. And with this much talent, there’s no need to “cry.”
Admirably ambitious, refreshingly original, highly conceptual, deeply personal and irresistibly catchy, “Cry Baby” blends infections beats, beautiful melodies, catchy hooks and razor-sharp lyrics layered underneath Martinez’s signature sweetly haunting femme-fatale vocals. The result? A dark, whimsical, seductive, melancholic and highly addictive collection of songs, amounting to one of the most impressive debut pop albums in recent memory.
Her wretched desire to emote her wretched pain is a colorful strife for love and acceptance. She has a real sense of belonging in a world that does not see her as a genuine fit. Her struggles for love and acceptance surrounded by the thud of chaos marries the trials and tribulations of Gemma. She longs to be your love, whether it’s by the force of a childlike persona or by the realness of her womanly presence. Martinez brings forth her cinematic darkness in tones and colors it with a lightness and openness that is both frank and honest in its melodies.
DOLLHOUSE- DIRECTED BY MELANIE MARTINEZ
PITY PARTY- DIRECTED BY MELANIE MARTINEZ
Obscura 