Twenty-year-old up-and-coming artist, Melanie Martinez is no stranger to the limelight, first appearing on the hit singing show The Voice in 2012. She wooed the judges with her dark, enchanting twist on Britney Spears’s iconic song “Toxic”, maturing the song from its upbeat, pop roots.

Martinez was one of the finalists of the show, lasting until week five. However, she did not let this loss halt her music career, launching her debut album Cry Baby on August 14, 2015.

Cry Baby is a concept album, molded off an emotionally fragile and insecure persona named “Cry Baby”. This persona is based off Martinez herself, pouring her dark, repressed emotions into her work. The album appears innocent at first, the cover art resembling the essence of youth and femininity–balloons mirroring childhood birthday parties, the pastel pink clouds simulating cotton candy retrieved at youthful summer carnivals.

Underneath the childlike exterior, however, Cry Baby expresses twisted, tragic adult experiences, such as heartbreak, addiction, and insecurities, and uses aspects of youth to allude to them, such as a game of tag, a carnival, and a pair of training wheels. Martinez proves that even if one ages, one still holds notions from one’s youth, never truly growing up.

Take the song off her album, “Mrs. Potato Head”; it uses the childhood toy–a toy with multitudes of plastic accessories to switch on and off–Mr. Potato Head and compares it to the damaging beauty standards women face, leading them to abuse plastic surgery and “switch” their features like the plastic accessories.

As the album continues, it grows progressively darker. It chronologically follows the storybook tale of “Cry Baby” as she advances through life. The listeners go on a voyage, experiencing everything from her emotionally abusive family down to her first major heartbreak.

This voyage is illustrated by Martinez’s strong, whimsical vocals. Her voice is unlike anything heard before, mysterious and doll-like, and truly captures the essence of the album, making the listener feel like they are experiencing an ominous psychological horror film. Even with this ominous feel, one can still sense Martinez’s playful passion.

Cry Baby feels like a mystical experience. The wide range of songs feel cinematic and utterly unique. Martinez’s song “Soap”–alluding to the childhood act of washing one’s mouth out with soap–starts off with the haunting utter of the main line, “Guess I better wash my mouth out with soap”, setting the atmosphere of the song. The sound of bubbles popping correlates to the beat, leaving an addicting mellow tone to the listeners.

Martinez’s indie-pop style reaches all audiences. Cry Baby provides comfort to those who felt like they have never belonged or are too eccentric to fit in the typical mold of society. Her rare, haunting method of storytelling will stay in the hearts of listeners for years to come.