Chihuahua0 - Cry Baby - Album Review [tekst, tłumaczenie i interpretacja piosenki]

Pop concept albums emerge every blue moon, so with singer Melanie Martinez centuring her debut LP around a persona, it's a record to raise eyebrows for.

Melanie Martinez's Cry Baby (August 14th) is an electro-pop full-length album concerning the titular alter ego, within a fantastical suburbia infested by pent-up housewives, red-riding wolves, and feels.

It's a culmination of the hype Melanie has ridden since 2012's The Voice. After exiting as a finalist, Martinez opted for independence until 2014 viral hit "Dollhouse". One listen at this sketch of a seemingly perfect household, it's easy to see why fans have stuck with her ever since:

She pulls out a flask, and forgets his infidelity
Uh oh she's coming to the attic, plastic, go back to being plastic
No one ever listens, this wallpaper glistens
One day they'll see what goes down in the kitchenThe character Cry Baby is near-autobiographical, inspired by her tendencies of "being super emotional and taking things way too seriously." Although Melanie herself haven't poisoned a sexual predator with sweets (as "Milk and Cookies" depicts), the persona enables her to take on mental turmoil and romantic troubles through a life-larger proxy.

If you wished Marina and the Diamonds went farther with Electra Heart, you need to check out Cry Baby, and even dye half your hair for the live tour.

The narrative isn't obvious unless you read interviews or the physical album's story booklet, but the album addresses Cry Baby's journey from being a shameful wreck, to a crazy-and-proud woman. Listen to the end for the lo-fi Alice jam "Mad Hatter":

Now I'm peeling the skin off my face
Cause I really hate being safe
The normals, they make me afraid
The crazy, they make me feel saneAlthough Melanie can be as unsubtle with the social commentary as Lily Allen, Martinez nuances the presentation with whimsical melodies -- even if some elements, like the baby talk within "Alphabet Boy", don't endear. If you're put off by a college-aged woman channeling childishness, past this album.

Production-wise, Cry Baby embodies the 21st century mindset of mashing influences across genres and decades. In Martinez's case, it's electro-pop with both a rap DJ's sound library, and a toy box.

"Dollhouse" pairs a ticking clock against sub-bass. "Carousel" sets fairground loops and a xylophone to trap brass. And in "Pity Party", Melanie interpolate Lesley Gore's 60's hit "It's My Party" alongside urban drums and a "hey, hey" off-beat. For a song about Melanie melting down over her deserted birthday gathering, it's quite the party banger.

"Cry Baby" carves its own niche with a compelling concept and unorthodox instrumentals. If you want to dance as you mope, invite Melanie's pop-game corner. She's happy to share the musical misery throughout the night.

Songs to Note: "Pity Party", " "Tag You're It", "Dollhouse".