“Portals” by Melanie Martinez is a masterclass in the art of practical effects and musical storytelling.
“Follow the tunnel into the portal/Lay all your burdens to rest,” Martinez sings on “Tunnel Vision,” the first song I have heard from this project. While not the opening track, the intro and outro of this song build a clear picture of the kind of sound and messaging Martinez sprinkles through the entirety of the album.
While more seductive in nature, the actual message Martinez conveys on the track is how women are always put on a pedestal and seen much more for their bodies rather than who they are as a person. The men usually have tunnel vision or a lack of understanding in this scenario. To me, this track really builds on the more predictable and catchy nature of pop music — a route Martinez hasn’t really curved until now. I find that within this album, she really pushes in a much more diverse direction, with each song sounding completely different from the last.
While playing a character named Crybaby since her first record by the same name back in 2015, Martinez stated that “Portals” is the end of the trilogy of Crybaby. Each song brings Crybaby back from the dead and then into a new form that will bring her back to earth as a new person. Martinez describes in specifics that “(Portals) is what happens before you return to earth in a new form.”
The opening of the record and lead single for this new era titled “Death” is a masterclass in Martinez’s more rock-and-punk approach to this album, and as Martinez sings on the track “Back from the Dead,” alright.
“Death” consists of a mixture between a rock anthem and ballad, some elements resembling Billie Eillish’s “Happier Than Ever” from 2021. While having a much heavier bass line and punchy production, I find the lyrics of “Death” much more emotional and consistent with songs that wouldn’t normally be found in this direction. “Death is life, is Death is Life” being the first words of this album
The most popular song currently from the album and Martinez’s first major chart entry since her 2012 debut, “Void,” like every song on the album, has a major transition to the next, connecting each and every song to one another.
While following a similar message of “being trapped in an endless vortex,” I find the lyrics, especially on “Void,” to be some of the best and most coherent writing in music history. “Like a priest behind confession walls/ I judge myself, Kneelin’ on a metal grater… I gotta escape the void/ there is no other choice” are my favorite lyrics from the entire album. While the album has its own narrative and story, a song like Void can be picked out, and several people including myself attach to it and see ourselves within it; I find that to be the most important thing in music.
When it comes to Martinez, no one else could make a song like “Spider Web” or “The Contortionist,” both being the highlights of this album’s production made by CJ Baran, who previously worked with Martinez on their debut album.
Martinez’s entire career has used practical effects in certain ways that, for some, might make you severely uncomfortable. Like in “The Contortionist,” where breaking and stretching bones are consistent in the production, and in “Spider Web” where the intro at the end of “Light Shower” is if you have headphones spiders crawling all around you. And 360 sound is also very present as the production skips from ear to ear in “Spider Web” ‘s chorus.
And while production is something most listeners can usually expect as a highlight of most of Martinez’s records, two of my favorite records off of “Portals” are “Light Shower” and “Leeches”. Which marks two of Martinez’s major ballads, with just mostly simple guitars leading the records. I find that, especially within these songs and “Portals,” Martinez’s voice has never been so present and clear. With them taking three to five years between projects there is always something new to expect from her as an artist.
After the album’s release on March 31, Martinez released a deluxe version on April 5, which came with three new tracks, “‘Powder,” “Pluto,” and my personal favorite, “Milk of the Siren.” The last became was originally an unreleased song, but it became a fan-favorite when it was leaked online in 2021, and code-named“Sirens.” I consider this song the most well-produced and fun song in the entire project. “Milk of the Sirens” is very reminiscent of the sound of the euphoric soundtrack, and embellishes into the past, and focuses on historical events, specifically the Salem Witch Trials. Martinez does not hold back in displaying her message in music and is willing to show everything she needs and craft a narrative that is one to behold for the far future.
“Portals” has redefined what it means to live day to day and how life could be if we existed in a world between life and death. As a former “Crybaby” and now “Earthling,” as the fandom has renamed itself for this era, I cannot wait to see what Martinez has crafted for the Earthlings for the next few years as she embarks on the ‘Portals” tour starting this June.
Ranking of my favorite songs:
1. “Milk of the Siren”
2. “Tunnel Vision”
3. “The Contortionist”
4. “Leeches”
5. “Evil”
6. “Void”
7. “Death”
8. “Battle of the Larynx”
9. “Light Shower”
10. “Womb”
11. “Nymphology”
12. “Pluto”
13. “Moon Cycle”
14. “Spider Web”
15. “Powder”
16. “Faerie Soirée”
