dodie’s Introspective Album ‘Build a Problem’ Out Now

24-year-old singer-songwriter Dodie Clark, known as dodie, just dropped her new album, Build A Problem. Before the album release, dodie shared a few of the album’s songs, including “Cool Girl,” “Hate Myself,” “Rainbow,” and “I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You).” Bonus tracks of the albums include two previously released songs, “Guiltless” and “Boys Like You.”

@doddleoddle ‘s build a problem is beautiful like i’ve never heard such pretty arrangements. also When i missed you sm i love dodie

— shannon married to lena & milo simp era (@notyetinsane) May 7, 2021

As always, dodie’s indie-pop music features acoustic sounds paired with her soft vocals. In Build A Problem, dodie reflects on her family background, how it has shaped her into the person she is, and her struggles with anxiety and depersonalization disorder. The singer makes metaphors about breathing and trying to capture the unattainable, such as being the perfect girlfriend and falling safely and comfortably in love. The album also captures the messy moments in life, such as drunkenly hooking up with someone who has a girlfriend, casually dating directly after a breakup, and thinking that everyone hates her when she is not interacting with them.

Along with the album release, dodie uploaded beautiful lyric videos on YouTube. She is inside a car at some point in the video, if not the entire time. With the exceptions of “Before The Line” and “Cool Girl,” dodie sits in the backseat. It creates a feeling of isolation and a lack of control. In videos such as “Rainbow,” “Air So Sweet,” and “I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You),” the backseat is reminiscent of the back of a cab. She cries, checks her phone, and looks outside the window.

Some of the videos have seamless transitions between them. In “Four Tequilas Down,” dodie wears a suit in the back of the cab. She gradually strips until she is covering her bust with the white fabric of the button-down shirt. At the beginning of “.” also known as “Full Stop,” dodie begins with the last shot of “Four Tequilas Down” and changes into a dress which she keeps trying to pull up one shoulder. This dress is also seen in “Sorry” in its off-the-shoulder state as she cries and wipes blood from her hands.

Curl up under a warm blanket with some tea and listen to dodie’s new album Build A Problem on Spotify.