Lav's Music Corner

PORTALS  - Melanie Martinez A few years ago when I reviewed Melanie's long-awaited sophomore album K-12  I called her a cult pop star because her dark and thematic songs attracted a cult following with the way they tackled adult subjects through childhood imagery, but they hadn't broken into the mainstream. In the years since however, Melanie's music has repeatedly gone viral and her fans have gotten a LOT louder. One thing that hasn't changed is my opinions on Melanie's first two albums. Crybaby  still deserves its cult status and probably deserves a lot more recognition in retrospect for how many indie and underground pop artists of today were clearly influenced by it. While her sophomore record K-12  is more inconsistent it's also rewardingly conceptual and the plotless but heavily stylized movie it was attached to is equally fun. In combination with those two albums and the fact that I still enjoyed the lead single DEATH  a good bit, I was fully anticipating...

5.  Fatal Attraction  - 6LACK After I was split on the first two singles from this new album more of my hopes than I'd like to admit rested on this song and I kind of came down in the middle. 6LACK is still a very compelling performer and I like the wavy spaced-out production on this song quite a bit. The problem is almost everything here from the lyrical content, to the piano refrain, and even the hook itself feels really standard and arguably overdone. It's a track that fails to excite me like a single should but would make a fine deep cut. Listen 4.  Lean Beef Patty  - Danny Brown & Jpegmafia The first offering from one of the most highly anticipated rap crossovers in years is a short offering that feels MUCH more like Peggy than Danny with it's blown out bass and chaotic changes in style. Even if it feels more like a 2-minute bar fest than an actual song these two are still undeniably compelling performers and it shows in the intensity they can put behind eve...

Melanie Martinez 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 her...

Melanie Martinez is a New York based singer and songwriter who capitalized on her moment in the spotlight. After losing on The Voice she her debut studio album Crybaby  in 2015. The record was initially a successful release spawning a number of popular singles but in the years since 2015 it has taken on a new life as a cult classic record with a highly devoted fanbase and increased respect in the pop music world. Melanie's strong fanbase even stuck with her through a sexual assault allegation, later proved to be mostly untrue, and as she has released snippets and begun a huge promotional campaign for the new era of her career K-12  has the potential to be a comeback album that so few pop artists get after four year breaks in studio material. Review By Lavender: Melanie's debut album Crybaby  is one of the better pop records of this decade as it combines tight thematic concepts with spacey and atmospheric instrumentals all wrapped up in her marquee theme, taking on ...