Melanie Martinez’s debut album Crybaby is an infectious foray into her storybook world of catchy hooks and childlike horror. Underneath the slick beats and beyond the sugary lyrics involving playthings such as dollhouses, teddy bears and carnivals lies a fascinating and darkly imagined world of murder, madness and warped relationships.
Martinez, now a mere 20 years old, initially made a name for herself by appearing on The Voice. She generated much excitement for her album with early singles accompanied by visually striking, at times macabre music videos that she developed and directed herself. On top of this, the theme song of American Horror Story Story: Freak Show was based off one of these songs, “Carousel.” Often compared to other alternative pop artists such as Lana del Ray or fellow newcomer Halsey, her songs consist of sultry vocals and incorporate a variety of sounds, from electronic to 1950s to hip-hop elements.
But in most respects Martinez is singular to other artists. Carnival music and wind up toy melodies weave through many of her songs in keeping with their lyrical content. She has a unique voice that is at once sweet and throaty, sultry and childlike that plays well into her affinity for the trappings of childhood. That certainly follows when she sings of toys and candy but unsettles (in a good way) when she sings of corpses and being chased through a parking lot.
The album itself is highly conceptual and follows the story of “Crybaby”, a highly sensitive girlish figure who must navigate through a twisted family life, complicated relationships, and even assault. Each song adds another incident in Crybaby’s journey to ultimate self-acceptance, complete with the emotional, even unhinged part of herself (“all the best people are crazy”).
Most interesting of all is the focused nature of her songs around one seemingly innocent object or figure that turns into an extended metaphor for darker subjects. Take for instance the song “Mrs. Potato Head” that seemingly addresses the popular toy that can have its face rearranged, but is really a clever rumination on plastic surgery and the link between pain and beauty. The song “Soap” abounds with figurative language surrounding bathing and running faucets as a way of representing the fear of “spilling” one’s inner feelings to someone else and stifling expression by “washing one’s mouth out with soap”.
The idea of horrors cleaned, covered or ornamented in pretty, innocent things pervades the album. One of the more morbid examples of this—and one of my favorites—is “Sippy Cup,” a tale of an alcoholic, insecure mother who murders her cheating husband. Despite the mother’s efforts to keep up appearances and smooth over the horror of the situation, Martinez calmly croons that “kids are still depressed when you dress them up / syrup is still syrup in a sippy cup.”
Aside from the clever lyrical content, Martinez’s songs are downright catchy. These are songs that were designed to get stuck in your head. She has discovered a formula for irresistible choruses that will have you singing along within a listen or two. She rarely colors outside the lines of this polished, structured formula but she does it so well that you can forgive the slightly repetitive nature of the album, and the shortfall of variation within each song.
However, it will be interesting going forward to see if she can branch out a little and really let her creative forces run wild. If anyone can shake things up in the world of catchy, infectious pop I’d put my money on Martinez.