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DODIE’S BUILD A PROBLEM
Dorothy Miranda Clark, known professionally as dodie, is an English Youtuber, author, and singer-songwriter. The 26 year old performer began her career by uploading original songs and covers on Youtube. Now, with nearly 2 million subscribers and millions of monthly listeners over all streaming platforms, dodie has quickly made a name for herself in more ways than one.
After 3 EPs and countless singles, in early 2021 dodie finally released her debut album, Build A Problem. In an insight for Apple Music, dodie spilled that Build A Problem was about “the problems I build in my life and other people’s lives”. A painfully honest look into dodie’s mind and heart, her debut leaves no stone unturned. Build A Problem expertly pairs heart-wrenching songwriting with stunningly haunting melodies for a truly unique listening experience.
The delicate “Air so Sweet” serves as the opener and tone setter for the album as dodie laments about finally being about to breathe freely. The brightly pessimistic “Hate Myself” follows with staple lyrics “When you go quiet I hate myself”, that are all too relatable. Dodie reflects on external and internal views of oneself in opposing tracks, “Cool Girl” and “Special Girl”. Originally debuting on dodie’s Youtube channel a few years prior to the album’s release, “Rainbow” rounds out the first part of the album recounting the singer’s experiences with her sexuality and subsequent coming out. For longtime followers of dodie’s career, hearing “Rainbow” performed with full orchestra arrangements, rather than just dodie’s signature ukulele, is an out of body experience in and of itself.
“Four Tequilas Down” establishes the more abstract route the back half of the album takes as its lighthearted instrumentation clashes with its devastating lyrics. Eerily beautiful harmonies and resounding strings fill “Sorry” and “When” to the brink with unfiltered emotion. “Before the Line” concludes the album as dodie reflects on everything that led her to where she is now, with bits of every other song on the album threaded throughout.
Yet the album doesn’t actually end there. Like most people in the world, in 2020 dodie found herself with a lot of time to slow down, think, and write. Eight demo tracks, all written and recorded during quarantine, make up the B-side of Build A Problem, providing a surprisingly lighter look into life during a pandemic.
Dodie’s light and smooth vocals may have been what launched her career, but her dedication to honest storytelling and complete artistry of the craft is what keeps listeners coming back. With an international tour taking off in early 2022 and new subscribers on Youtube everyday, dodie shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.