PORTALS

by Melanie Martinez

Overview

With 2023's PORTALS, Melanie Martinez further fleshes out her high-concept pop, crafting an album that plays enticingly like Alice in a goth Wonderland. Arriving on the heels of a two-year hiatus, the record is the singer's first not to feature her empath "Cry Baby" persona, the focus of both 2015's Cry Baby and 2019's K-12. Thematically, PORTALS is an album about death and rebirth with songs that speak to Martinez's ongoing knack for reinventing her sci-fantasy baby girl aesthetic in ever more musically nuanced and diaristic ways. Produced with collaborator C.J. Baran, PORTALS sounds similar to her past work, a textural blend of electronic grooves and instrumentation that she smartly blends with more organic strings, woody bass, and sundry other analog instruments. Vocally, Martinez also still has her distinctively cherubic style, like an anime alien who listened to a lot of Feist and Rihanna. There's also a growing maturity to her work and never a sense that she's not in complete control of what she's creating. This is perhaps best expressed on the opening "DEATH," a moody, orchestral-tinged anthem that feels like it's about reclaiming one's emotions after a difficult breakup. PORTALS also features moments of thrilling alt-rock anthemics, including the Garbage-esque "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX" with its chugging guitar riff and tidal wave synths. There's also "VOID," which sounds something like Billie Eilish crossed with the Cure. Equally compelling is "MOON CYCLE," in which Martinez takes a strong, witchy feminist stance, singing, "I could win a fight on my period/Matter of fact, right now, I could build a pyramid/You messing with my cycle, that is dangerous." ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	03/31/2023
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0075678625718

Tracks

1. Death
2. Void
3. Tunnel Vision
4. Faerie Soirée
5. Light Shower
6. Spider Web
7. Leeches
8. Battle of the Larynx
9. THE Contortionist
10. Moon Cycle
11. Nymphology
12. Evil
13. Womb

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Melanie Martinez   Primary Artist,Vocals
CJ Baran   Synthesizer,Guitar
C.J. Baran   Guitar,Synthesizer
Nick Long   Guitar
Rhys Hastings   Drums
Pearl Lion   Guitar
Martin Kutnar   Cello
Matej Mihaljevic   Violin
One Love   Synthesizer
Ilan Rubin   Drums

Technical Credits

Craig Rosen   A&R
Jimmy Fontaine   Photography
C.J. Baran   Engineer,Producer,Programming,Executive Producer
Jared Scharff   Composer
Jeremy Dussolliet   Composer
Tim Sommers   Composer
Christopher J. Baran   Composer
Simon Says   Producer
Jonathan Hoskins   Composer,Producer
Virgilio Tzaj   Design,Art Direction
Mitch McCarthy   Mixing,Mastering
Melanie Martinez   Design,Composer,Producer,Art Direction,Executive Producer
Nick Long   Composer
Michael Keenan   Engineer
Cautious Clay   Composer,Producer
Simon Rosen   Composer
Omer Fedi   Composer
The 23rd   Producer
Pearl Lion   Producer
One Love   Producer,Programming
Justin Greenwood   Producer
Glen Garth   Composer
Emerson Mancini   Mastering
Phil Garth   Composer
Ida Lissner   Design
Caroline Vang   Design
CJ Baran   Engineer,Producer,Programming
Jeff Levin   A&R