DODIE - BUILD A PROBLEM
Build A Problem is self-conscious, haunting and raw. It’s also beautiful, engaging and thrilling. Dodie Clark has been able to weave her personal trauma into an ineffable piece of art with her debut album.
Ten years after posting her first ever Youtube video, Dodie Clark (stylized dodie) has released her debut album Build a Problem, a musical tapestry of pain and prettiness.
The opening track, ‘Air So Sweet’, is a beautiful introduction to the album. The intricate harmonies that she layers throughout the track gently grow and swell, creating the sensation of the sweet but never sticky, moreish but never sickly air she sings of so fondly.
dodie has a very distinctive sound, involving dulcet vocals and out-of-the-box instrumentations, and this really shines through in ‘I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You)’. This song oozes honesty, both brutally and candidly. This song is about trying your hardest to shake the memory of a past lover by kissing someone new, but dodie wastes no time in letting her lover know that the kiss did not work. Ethereal strings and woozy reverb mimic the feeling of being drunk, tired and out-of-body; but when paired with surprisingly simple lyrics, ‘I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You)’ is both intoxicating and sobering in equal measure.
Despite how honest she is in her music and her videos, the two instrumental tracks titled ‘?’ and ‘.’ are decidedly hard to read. It would be fair to assume that she did this on purpose. Are they musical interpretations of dodie’s mental health? Are they a question and then subsequently, an answer? Art is subjective and there is nothing wrong with music that is up for interpretation. Isn’t that what it means to truly listen? To take in the information, fully and without judgement, but not always crafting a response?
Following ‘.’ is ‘Sorry’, a heart-wrenching self-exposé. This song feels like dancing with a lover at a ball, then arguing with them on the moors. Violins that begin brightly, like a waltz, soon becoming stormy and deafening. The strings in this song are haunting and romantic, and the way they continue to build and pour throughout the song emulates a messy, truthful apology; those moments where you just keep talking and talking and can’t stop, and the words linger in the air long after they’ve been said.
‘Sorry’ seamlessly transitions into ‘When’, one of dodie’s older songs. The new recording, however, has a much more pained and mature tone to it. The first recording felt like a confession, where the new one is more sombre and laboured. You can tell dodie is completely exhausted by these feelings. It’s slower, quieter, but considerably more angry. The strings are richer and more stirring, but the gentle piano part has stayed constant over the years – a painful reminder that these feelings haven’t gone away yet.
Build A Problem is self-conscious, haunting and raw. It’s also beautiful, engaging and thrilling. Dodie Clark has been able to weave her personal trauma into an ineffable piece of art. She is an exceptional talent.
Abbie McLaren
★★★★★