This new release from Gen Z icon Melanie Martinez has been long awaited and it is a rebirth in more ways than one. Her previous persona, ‘Cry Baby’, has died, but an alien-like spirit has emerged in her place, with Martinez drastically transforming her appearance with pink skin and bizarre prosthetics in all the promo for ‘PORTALS’. This physical ‘death’ and reincarnation is a manifestation of the question of life after death that lingers through the album. Her sound has also evolved to be more electronic, yet her lyrics and concepts remain quirky as ever. Martinez even recorded the sound of her stomach rumbling from period cramps and added it to menstruation-themed track ‘MOON CYCLE’, a perfect example of how wonderfully out-there this album is. LT

Out now on Atlantic