Melanie Martinez, K-12 | Album Review 💿

After a four-year hiatus, The Voice alum Melanie Martinez returns with her sophomore album, ‘K-12’, a thoughtful, well-rounded, conceptual affair. 

Keeping it 100, the NBC hit vocal competition, The Voice, hasn’t exactly catapulted many of its alumni into big-time success in the music business.  That said, arguably its most unique contestant, season three’s Melanie Martinez, has achieved her fair share of success. Quite a quirky, alternative individual, it paid dividends on her 2015 major label debut, Cry Baby. Four years later, she returns with another distinct, conceptual affair with her ‘school-centric’ sophomore album, K-12.  Cry Baby, the central character on Cry Baby, returns on K-12, which is notably accompanied by a 90+ minute film.

“The Wheels on the Bus”

✓ “The Wheels on the Bus” commences K-12 in lively fashion, thanks to the observations being made while riding the bus. “‘Cause Maya’s letting Dan put his hand up her skirt,” Martinez sings at the end of the first verse, continuing, “And she’s got her hand down his pants.”  Melanie shares her disapproval of the happenings on the bus, ultimately proclaiming on the chorus, “No one’s watching us, don’t give a fuck / Wheels on the bus / I’m holding it down up in the front…” ✓ “Class Fight” keeps things intriguing as ‘Cry Baby’ (again, Martinez) “Goes for the throat,” per her dad’s advice, fighting a girl for a boy she wants as well.  The result, as she shares on the second verse, is “Her face was fucked up and my hands were bloody,” while the boy who was the catalyst for the fight calls ‘Cry Baby’ “A monster.” Two songs in, K-12 is quite entertaining.

✓ “The Principal” is arguably the first truly transcendent number of K-12.  Melanie Martinez certainly doesn’t paint a favorable picture of the principal, yet she’s actually thinking bigger than the administrator of the school.  Likely, the administrator who she’s pointing the finger at is the 45^th President of the United States, Donald Trump. The chorus definitely suggests Martinez is tackling societal problems affecting children, including mental health, violence, drugs, cyberbullying, and politicians, including the ‘Chief’ amongst them, who fail to address such issues.  “Oh, where’s the principal?”

“Show & Tell”

“Show and tell / I’m on display for all you fuckers to see / Show and tell / Harsh words if you don’t get a pic with me.” On “Show & Tell,” Melanie Martinez perfectly captures the plight of being famous.  Clearly, she doesn’t enjoy the fame because she feels “I’m just like you, you’re like me / Imperfect and human, are we?” Interestingly, “Nurse’s Office” brings back some of the carnival-like sounds that characterized “Carousel” from Cry Baby.  “Nurse’s Office” finds Martinez portraying herself as being ill.  She doesn’t like ‘school,’ hence why she asserts on the chorus, “Take me home / Give me that pink slip of permission.” Normally, a pink slip of any kind has a negative connotation but in this particular case, it’s a pro for Cry Baby.

“You can keep your costume and you can keep your mask / I’ma take a bow so you can kiss my ass.” Damn! ✓ “Drama Club” is a surefire bop from an initial listen.  While Melanie Martinez makes the school concept of K-12 work superbly, “Drama Club” is one of the strongest showings.  On the chorus she asserts, “I never signed up for your drama / Up for your drama, up for your drama club.” She references The Wizard of Oz on the second verse, reframing “If I Only Had a Brain” in regard to thought control as opposed to individual, original thoughts.  She’s even more blunt on the third verse, citing over-analyzation, and asserting, “Fuck your auditorium, I think it’s pretty boring…”

“Strawberry Shortcake” 

“Instead of making me feel bad for the body I got / Just teach him to keep it in his pants and tell him to stop.” On-point to the nth degree, ✓ “Strawberry Shortcake” continues the excellence of K-12, tackling the unfair objectification of women.  “Sayin’ it’s my fault, it’s my fault ‘cause I put icing on top,” Martinez sings on the catchy, thought-provoking chorus, continuing, “Now, the boys want a taste of the strawberry shortcake.” “Strawberry Shortcake” sends the message of treating women with respect, not as sexual objects.

“Lunchbox Friends” uses some pitch shifting, specifically on the chorus.  It certainly keeps things modern.  More important, as has been the case throughout K-12, are the lyrics and themes.  Here, Melanie Martinez seems to clarify the definition of legitimate friendship as opposed to “lunchbox friends.” ✓ “Orange Juice” doesn’t put the popular fruit juice in a positive light.  That’s part of the genius of it.  Martinez addresses the dangers of eating disorders, seeking to attain ‘perfection’ at the risk of poor health mentally and physically.  “You turn oranges to orange juice,” she sings on the chorus, continuing, “Enter there, then spit it out of you / Your body is imperfectly perfect / Everyone wants what the other one’s working / No more orange juice.”

“Detention” 

“Detention” continues to highlight the depth of K-12 beyond its school concept. Melanie Martinez paints a picture of teachers being unsympathetic to students at times and ultimately failing to understand what’s happening in their lives.  “I’m chewing gum to pass the time / Sadness, can’t you see it?” she sings on the pre-chorus.  The bigger picture is that as a society, we judge others but often don’t understand or are unsympathetic to them, or what they might be experiencing.  Specific to Martinez, “Detention” is about how she is regarded as a celebrity, major label artist, and so on.  “Teacher’s Pet” highlights an inappropriate student-teacher relationship. It should be far-fetched, but honestly, how may news stories have there been where this has happened? “Didn’t learn a damn thing, honey, from you / Except how to lie and cheat while inside the sheets.” Oh my!

Penultimate cut “High School Sweethearts” is the longest song of K-12, passing the five-minute mark.  The premise in its simplest form is about expectations of relationships.  Sure, Martinez is being dramatic and quite descriptive when she asserts, “If you’re not down to bleed, no, oh / If you can’t handle the chocking, the biting / The loving, the smothering,” but ultimately, the point is dedication through the good, the bad, and the ugly.  K-12 concludes with ✓ “Recess,” which seems to find Martinez addressing the hunger of music label execs, her four-year hiatus between albums, and ultimately, being in control of self without letting others rule or run over you.  The chorus is blunt yet prudent:

“Don’t let them fuck you, honey, no, oh
Don’t let them try
Don’t let them hurt you, baby
Just say, ‘Recess, I’m tired.’”

Final Thoughts 

It’s clear listening to K-12 that Atlantic likely wanted Melanie Martinez to ‘speed the process up’ for her sophomore album.  Thank goodness she took her time because K-12 is easily one of the better albums of any genre in 2019.  The concept works extremely well, with the best moments being those that fully transcend beyond that concept and tackle relevant societal issues.  As always, Martinez sings wonderfully, and the production is appropriate and sleek.  But it is the lyrics and themes that make K-12 a gem that more people need to be listening to and talking about.

✓ Gems: “The Wheels on the Bus,” “Class Fight,” “The Principal,” “Drama Club,” “Strawberry Shortcake,” “Orange Juice” & “Recess”

Melanie Martinez • K-12 • Atlantic • Release: 9.6.19

Photo Credit: Atlantic