Building upon the conceptual ideas of her 2014 EP, Dollhouse, Melanie Martinez's 2015 full-length debut, Cry Baby, finds her taking the innocent imagery of youth and family ("Carousel," "Training Wheels," "Milk and Cookies") and subverting them into angular R&B and electro-infused anthems of familial strife, abuse, and romance gone wrong. An arty, self-assured singer with a style that falls somewhere between Beyonce and Bjork, Martinez first came to the public's attention singing Britney Spears' "Toxic" as a contestant on the third season of NBC's The Voice. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, her songs also fit nicely next to the work of contemporaries like Lorde and Lana Del Rey. As with Dollhouse, aiding Martinez on Cry Baby are a handful of hip-hop and pop-steeped producers including Kinetics & One Love (B.o.B, Pitbull, Neon Hitch), SmarterChild (Krewella, Usher, Tori Kelly), and Frequency (Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Slaughterhouse). Featured on Cry Baby are the singles "Sippy Cup," "Soap," and "Pity Party." ~ Matt Collar
Rovi
TVオーディション番組「The Voice」に出場し、個性的なファッションでも視聴者の心を掴んだメラニー嬢の初作です。B.o.B仕事で知られるキネティックス&ワン・ラヴらのサポートを受け、幼年期の思い出を現在と照らし合わせて書いたという楽曲は、ほんのりダークでキッチュ。ハンドメイド感覚の電子ポップが、ロリ声にバッチリはまっています。ラナ・デル・レイを無垢にしたような世界観はとってもテン年代的ですよ。
bounce (C)松元かれん
タワーレコード(vol.384(2015年10月25日発行号)掲載)