Portals is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez, released on March 31, 2023, through Atlantic Records.[1] It is Martinez's first album after she[a] took a three-and-a-half-year hiatus from releasing music. With her return, she introduced a new image and sported a new creature. In support of the album, Martinez embarked on the Portals Tour in May 2023.
The album had three singles: "Death", "Void", and "Evil"; the first two marked her first original appearances on the chart, respectively reaching numbers 95 and 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 142,000 units.
Background and release
In 2019, Martinez released her second studio album K–12 alongside a musical film of the same name.[2][3][4] After a two-year hiatus from music, she started to archive all of her Instagram posts and began to tease her then upcoming album on February 18, 2023.[5] Martinez also released a twelve-second snippet of a song on Spotify.[6]
In February 2023, Martinez released a teaser video showing a mushroom in a foggy forest, with the phrase "RIP Crybaby" engraved in its stem, accompanied by a snippet of a new song.[7] Several more teasers were subsequently posted, representing the "themes of rebirth, growing embryos, and eggs incubating in forests".[8] One teaser showed Martinez "herself hatching from an egg as a pink fairy creature".[9] Martinez's official website was also updated showcasing the album cover while merchandise for the album became available to the public for pre-order.[10] The album's title was revealed through Martinez's official website.[11]Portals was finally released on March 31, 2023.[7]
Composition
Genres and themes
Portals is primarily an alternativeart pop and art rock album with elements of dark pop, experimental pop, synth-pop, grunge and R&B.[12][13][14][15] Throughout the album, Martinez displays "pop-rock songwriting, driving drum beats, and voice filters".[13] The main theme of the album centers around the idea of a never-ending cycle of life and death and was described as "otherworldly and extraterrestrial".[16] Martinez takes the form of her alter-ego Cry Baby (established from her previous albums Cry Baby and K-12) who is reborn as a "pink-skinned, four-eyed fairy creature that's stuck between Earth and the afterlife".[16]
Music and content
The album begins with "Death" which "reintroduced her newfound concept" for the album.[17] The song begins with the phrase "Death is life is death is life" while heavy breathing and fast-paced footsteps are used at the beginning of the song.[16][13] The song leads into "Void" which uses a softer "ethereal ambience" sound and works as a "story of being in the void [...] in between life and death" while Martinez also talks about her insecurities.[17][16] This is followed by "Tunnel Vision" which has "layered eerie vocals" and transitions into an trip-hop outro that ends with Melanie's sigh "Show me how far obsession goes / Could've been more, now we'll never know". "Faerie Soirée" is an "intricate alt-pop ballad".[12] This is similar to the next track, "Light Shower", where Martinez uses "simplified and stripped-down" sounds.[12][16]
"Spider Web" has a xylophone melody and describes a social media addiction through "spider imagery and being caught in the web".[18] The song seamlessly transitions into "Leeches" which was described as a "slimy and superficial" ballad.[13][12] In "Battle of the Larynx", Martinez speaks out against male dominance against female psyche ["larynx" == "voice"]. The song was likened to that of rock music with a "fuzz-toned guitar riff and emphatic beat" and fades into ocean waves.[12] "The Contortionist" has a traditional pop structure with an "array of orchestral elements, creating a pop symphony".[12] "Moon Cycle" is a tragicomic and sketchy song about accidentally ruined relationship, which split Melanie regrets very.
"Nymphology" is a pop song with a chaotic climax.[12] In the song, Martinez compares nymphs in Greek mythology to "men, social media and the music industry" who put "femme-presenting people" into boxes and "use them for their own pleasure or gain and discarding them".[18] This is followed by "Evil," which was called a stand-out on the album.[17] The song sarcastically calls out an indecisive ex-partner refusing to reunite with the singer. The album ends with "Womb," which is a metaphor for Martinez's musical rebirth and loops back to the phrase "Life is death is life is death".[13] The song also loops directly back into "Death" if played on repeat.[18]
In the weeks leading up to the album's release, Martinez debuted several songs from the album in South America. She performed at all three South American Lollapalooza festivals,[19][20] as well as Festival Estéreo Picnic[21] and a solo headlining show in Santiago.[22] She also embarked on the Portals Tour.[23]
Singles
In March 2023, Martinez teased the lead single "Death" on Instagram, featuring a cryptic message and a photo showcasing a pink alien alter-ego "emerging from a prone human form". The song was released on March 17, 2023.[24] The single was written and produced by Martinez, with CJ Baran co-producing.[25] The song peaked at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her first original song on the Billboard Hot 100.[13]
"Void" was released digitally as the second single from the album on March 29, 2023, and was sent to alternative radio in the United States on April 11, 2023.[26] The song charted at number 61 on the Hot 100.[27]
Rolling Stone writer Tomás Mier praised Martinez's use of a new alter-ego, noting that she used "that character to deliver her most introspective lyrics and sounds that move outside her sonic comfort zone".[13] He called the album an "effortlessly inventive, mature record", saying that it "reintroduces her as an artist unafraid to start from scratch and tackle complex, difficult ideas".[13]Brig Newspaper writer Emma Victoria Jenky called the album "undeniably authentic" and added that it is "exciting to see her grow her skills into production, and receiving credit for her genius ideas".[16]
Emma Herold, writer for The Cavalier Daily, praised the album calling it a "statement of rebirth" for Martinez.[15] She noted that while there are "recognizable elements of Martinez's sound like syncopation and classic rhyme", she also felt there was a good combination of new sounds including "synth pop and a more harsh, grungy and dark tone".[15]
The Line of Best Fit writer Sam Franzini gave the album's lyrical content praise, comparing it to her older works, noting that the "themes are darker, and feel more real compared to her previous songs lacquered in metaphor".[17] However, he felt that while her reinvention was "fantastical and imaginative", it failed to live up to her past work.[17] Conversely, Evening Standard writer David Smyth gave the album three stars and criticised Martinez's lyrical content saying they were "comparatively lacking" and that "for the complete Martinez experience, the album isn't enough".[29] He compared Martinez's new image to Björk,[29] and so did Exclaim!, writing: "Björk can pull off this kind of thing because, well, she's Björk. The Voice alum [...], on the other hand, looks like an Annihilation extra who stumbled through a hedge."[30]
Portals debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 142,000 equivalent album units of which 99,000 were from pure album sales, making it her highest-charting album in the country.[32][33] The album also reached the top of the US Top Alternative Albums chart.[34] Internationally, the album reached number one in Australia and New Zealand, making it her first number-one album in both countries.[35][36] It also reached number two in the United Kingdom,[37] three in Canada,[38] Ireland,[39]Scotland,[40] and top ten in Germany,[41]Belgium,[42] and Spain.[43][44]
The Portals Tour is Martinez's fourth concert tour. The singer in support of her third studio album Portals announced the first leg, in North America, via her Instagram. Comprising thirty-one dates, the leg began on May 30, 2023, in Denver, Colorado, and concluded on July 15, 2023, in Montreal, Canada.[23] In March 2023, two dates in Mexico were added, bringing the North American leg to a scheduled close on October 19.[45] In June 2023, dates in Europe and Oceania were announced.[46]
Set list
The following set list is obtained from the Denver concert on May 30, 2023. It is not representative for all dates throughout the tour.[47]
