This is the first album by YouTuber/singer-songwriter from Essex, England, Dodie Clark. She got her start and her claim to fame by uploading covers as well as original songs to YouTube. She gained enough of a following on the website to warrant her own EPs. Her first one, Intertwined, reached number 35 on the UK album charts. Her second EP, You, reached number 6 and her third, Human, reached number 5. A staggering rise for her! In 2020, she announced that she would be releasing her first album, Build A Problem. At first it was going to be released in early March 2021, then it became late March 2021 due to vinyl complications thanks to Brexit (bringing vinyl exporting back to the Stone Age) and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. It was delayed again for the same reasons. In a stroke of irony, an album about dodie’s current identity crisis was partially delayed due to a global crisis. But it did come out, complete with a full short film to much praise.
One of the people who gave this album much praise was my sister. My sister really loved Build a Problem and she wanted me to listen to it, and I mean REALLY wanted me to listen to it. I initially got exposed to dodie through her collaborations with Paint (the guy who did the Disney a cappella videos) and I thought she was alright, but clearly my sister loved her. Eventually, she just sat me down and made me listen to this album and turns out, I loved it too. I loved it so much that I wondered why people in music circles weren’t talking about Build A Problem. It was amazing! I had to listen to this album with a fine-tooth comb.
I still really like this album. I don’t like it as much as I did the first time I listened to it, but Build a Problem is still a quite solid album.
Production is pretty good, especially for the vibe of this album. I feel like Build a Problem is a poppy album that goes intimate, and she does just that with her close sounding vocals with a hint of reverb. It has a lo-fi, muddy sound but with some high gloss pianos and strings and it’s done in a way that makes the aesthetic of this album unique.
Speaking of this album’s uniqueness, composition is essentially a fusion of lo-fi pop similar to Selena Gomez, but more muted. To counter this muted sound, we get Disney style strings which makes for a cool aesthetic. It’s a little rough, but it has a rustic presentation that I really like. The problem is in structure as I find the songs to be one-dimensional and too similar to each other with the same buildups every time, but at least the album structure is fairly cohesive.
Dodie’s singing voice is very meek, but it really fits into the whole subtle, relaxed vibe of this album. Lyrically, it’s not as cohesive as I thought/hoped it was, but it’s still a pretty cohesive narrative focussing on dodie’s problems, whether she’s causing them or suffering from them…or both. But my favourite part about this whole album is dodie’s witty writing style that never fails to make me smile or feel the emotions that she is trying to convey.
In short, don’t dismiss or underestimate dodie just because she’s one of those cutesy YouTubers. She packs a lyrical and musical punch that will make you feel empathy for her situation or just feel nice and relaxed. If for nothing else, stay for the clever writing!
I’m giving this a Strong 8/10
FAVOURITE TRACKS: Air So Sweet, Hate Myself, I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You), Cool Girl, Special Girl, Rainbow, ?, Four Tequilas Down, . (Full Stop), When, Before The Line
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACK: Sorry
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