After School EP - Melanie Martinez: Review
is an American pop singer who first emerged as a contestant on The Voice before releasing her acclaimed Dollhouse EP. She followed this with her 2015 debut album Cry Baby which became a major cult hit for it's narrative concept addressing dark themes with a childish aesthetic. It took four years for Melanie to release the follow-up album and accompanying film K-12 to further critical success, and many of the tracks on this EP come from the same recording sessions.
Review By Lavender:
If you read my end of year lists from 2019 or if you've ever spoken to me in real life for more than a few minutes you probably know I'm a big fan of Melanie Martinez. Her Crybaby record and one of its marquee singles Sippy Cup both landed on my end of decade lists for the 2010's and her unique style sounded just as refreshing last year as it initially did. I was worried at first that this EP would just be a collection of leftover songs but thankfully the tracks here are clearly fleshed out, and my problems with some of them have nothing to do with how finished they are.
Notebook is the opening track here which serves as an incredibly smooth tale of addressing an ex lover. The lyrics are great particularly the line about never writing Melanie love letters and the whole track comes off as a confident takedown of somebody who clearly didn't take advantage of their opportunities. Brain & Heart isn't quite as instantaneous with a short looped instrumental and breathy melodies but the song has grown on me a lot the more I listen to the EP. The songwriting can be surprisingly complex as Melanie singer her way in and out of refrains on the pre-chorus which results in another highlight. Glued is an irresistibly cute track even if there are some eye rolling lyrics here and there. Melanie's vocals are fragile but very pretty when she pushes into her upper register, the hook is simple and the whole thing kind of sounds like tik tok fodder but with much more artistry as Melanie's aesthetic is all over it. The closing track The Bakery is an absolute killer tune to end the EP off with. The beat is slick as hell and the descending bassline is perfect. Melanie's bakery themed lyrics are as charming as ever and the minimalist pop hook goes over flawlessly, exactly what I was hoping from the project.
Test Me has a pretty punchy instrumental with some rattling hip hop drums. The main issue I have with the track is that none of the refrains are really that catchy despite being well performed. The song has a decent flow to it but doesn't really have one memorable moment to it. Numbers is the EP's longest song but unfortunately also one of its biggest misses. The verses sound like Melanie is trying to do a confrontational in your face kind of thing like she's Gwen Stefani but it comes off incredibly awkwardly. The hook is even more difficult where the percussion turns more natural but some really ugly vocal effects kick in. The muddy ass mixing blends everything together into a total slop. Finally there is Field Trip a wild song which features the most uptempo beat and vocal delivery on the EP during its bridge. Despite this the chorus is one of the slowest developing and simplest, while I don't hate the idea and the killer beat helps the song out it all sounds really awkward. The hook is completely underwritten and the vocal effects on the second half of the bridge ruin the songs best moment and have me wishing she just kept singing the way she does on the rest of the song.
After School is a solid collection of tracks but it is clear why some of these songs weren't included on K-12. Despite some misses these tracks are just as polished as her albums and when she hits on a song they sound just as great. That makes this EP must-listen material for pop fans and an absolute essential for anyone who has enjoyed Melanie's music in the past. 6/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
I really enjoyed the previous aesthetics of Melanie's work and I think this one is a little more subtle than her past visuals. While it is on brand and feels like a continuation of her journey the image doesn't seem like it is the strongest. It may just be the out of focus and grainy quality or the addition of text that makes it seem thrown together. I like the image itself but the way the parts are put together aren't my favorite and I wish it melded with the music video visuals better. 6/10
For more pop check out my review of Katy Perry's Smile here
