Melanie Martinez - K-12 ALBUM REVIEW

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I don’t watch The Voice. It seemed like an American Idol clone with more pizazz and punch, and it just wasn’t for me. Back then, I had seen clips of a contestant named Melanie Martinez, and quite frankly, I was impressed. Then, as her career started to blow up, she put out her debut record Cry Baby, and while I think the concept was pretty ambitious, it felt a little bland and boring in execution. After a sexual assault controversy and taking a break from the public eye, Martinez returned with K-12, a continuation of the story that began in Cry Baby, and it was even accompanied by a film written and directed by Martinez herself. But this is an album review, not a film review. Let’s get into K-12 and see how it is.

K-12 is an alternative album with pop and electronic influences. Now, in this day and age, the type of alt-pop music that Martinez is making is more popular now than it was when her career started. Billie Eilish is the most prominent (and highest quality) example of this, and I’ve honestly forgotten about Cry Baby and even this album until I went out and reviewed it. K-12 suffers from the same problems that Cry Baby does: It feels like something that is a whole lot deeper than it is. It really sucks because Melanie has a lot of talent, but it isn’t shown off in any capacity in K-12. This doesn’t feel like a continuation of Cry Baby, it feels like the crappy demos and B-sides to the record. This is also way too long. This would have been better as an EP rather than a full-length album. The “cute but dark” aesthetic just doesn’t captivate me in any way, shape, or form.

Look, I know that Melanie Martinez has been a controversial figure in the past couple years, but I’m not talking about her experiences as a person. I’m only talking about her music. Wow, that’s about an hour I can never get back. It might just be that this isn’t for me. I don’t see the uniqueness in Martinez’s music at all. To me, it’s just generic, boring, and borderline annoying sometimes. I don’t wish her any ill will, but I’m just not paying attention to her music anymore.


3/10


Stream K-12 here

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube Music



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