Bi-colored hair, dolly eyes, gapped front teeth. Filmography embellished in vibrant colors, queer styles and storylines, and peculiar but enchanting costuming. The keywords for 24-year-old Queens artist Melanie Martinez, who is back at her Crybaby persona four years later with her latest album K-12, dropped September 6. Known for her aesthetic and dark fantasy world, created first in her debut single Dollhouse in 2014, she does not disappoint with all the tracks embedded in a 96-minute self-written and directed film. Now a schoolgirl, Crybaby from her 2015 debut studio album escapes her controlling and dictating school through an elaborate storyline.
Unique and distinctive in so many facets, Martinez expands on her eerie and enticing style that traces back to her top 6 The Voice appearance in 2012. While her debut album, Crybaby, was an inner monologue to her own vulnerable and disturbing childhood and the problems that tagged along with it, this sophomore album is an open door to the outside world. She paints a world where important societal issues are conveyed perfectly in her mysterious lyrics, hitting all the marks of present-day issues in only thirteen tracks, from bullying in “Wheels On the Bus” to openness and unfairness in “Show & Tell” to self-consciousness and mental health in “Nurse’s Office”. The album finishes with oversexualization of women in “Strawberry Shortcake” and the unfair use of power in “Detention” and “Teacher’s Pet”.
Martinez began working on the album after the release of Crybaby in 2015 and finished it in 2017. The first teaser released in May of 2019 with 20-second snippets of each track accompanied with short animations that were released throughout June and July. The official trailer came out on July 23, revealed that the album would be released September 6 and that the film would premiere in select theaters on the fifth.
A breakthrough album for the 24-year-old Queens artist as an international film, at last, portrays the most impactful issues today in under an hour of music. Decorating the ugly truth in pastel and sweet colors, she prioritizes her art and beliefs over monetary success as she released the film on YouTube for free on September 6. She takes her delicate, airy voice to a new level in this bitter treat. No villains punished and no heroes honored in the film, she strives for a world of only no inequality.
Although reviewed well by critics overall, the film has been criticized to consist of cheesy acting and little substance. But Martinez succeeds in her ultimate goal: a tart pill decorated in unique choreography, rich colors, and eccentric hair, make-up, and costumes. Never has her distinctive artistic voice shone in such a way. Overall, the film is truly captivating and the album full of styles, from ballads to odd ornaments, is a worthy 45 minutes to listen to and 96 minutes to watch.
