With the release of “Hot Mess” on September 30th, 2022, Dodie masterfully maintains their own storytelling flair while exploring new areas of sound and production musically. Playing to their strengths, the album utilizes that painful realism and intuitive melody that acts as a foundation for their music and cultivated “sound”; however, simultaneously introduces their established audience to newer content and styles from a more mature perspective than previously seen.
Without a doubt, the album constitutes itself as a win for those stumbling through a life directly affected by mental illness and complicated relationships with themselves and others.
Hot Mess:
Beginning with Hot Mess as the opening track, the song does exactly as intend by introducing listeners to the overall concepts and gist of the album – and does so in a traditionally fast-paced and cheeky way that reigns true to the artist’s past work. From the track, all those listening recognize the music to explore some of the more intricate feelings and experiences of the artist’s life; specifically, their anxieties, managing expectations, entrapment, etc. For many, Hot Mess is an extremely relatable song in the cruellest way. It serves as a perfect example of the lyrical work done by Dodie, as someone who can solidify feelings that society so rarely dares to discuss openly.
While the song may lean into heavier and more stigmatized concept material/emotions, it still maintains a level of detached maturity. In speaking about the musical component directly, it is necessary to recognize the choice of sonic build-up; with such detail, Dodie evokes such visceral feelings and emotions, adding a layer of tangibility to otherwise abstract content with the use of ad libs and grand swelling music
Overall, the song encapsulates the idea that music is an escape of sorts, a means of storytelling and reflection.
Got Weird:
With Track 2, Got Weird, Dodie uses the song to explore their personal experiences with identity – specifically, centering on the concepts of bisexual dating experiences and internalize biphopbia. With a heavy amount of (questionably) healthy introspection, anyone listening begins to understand the complicated nature of identity, especially when navigating one’s own queerness. With sly nods to heteronormativity, Dodie can write from the feelings of eagerness and shame that many members of the queer community can relate to or recall relating to, as well as all other feelings that follow with self-understanding and same sex relationships.
Lonely Bones:
Acting as the third track of a four-track installation, Lonely Bones speaks more to the growth of the artist than any other song on the album. Throughout most of their career, there has been a sense of kindness within their work and lyricism; more specifically, there is sympathy that Dodie writes with from some of the more mundane and human concepts, such as the feeling of loneliness. While the theme is a persistent one throughout Dodie’s work, Lonely Bones is welcoming and hopeful in a way that hasn’t been seen before; sonically, the use of unified singing and simple sound perfectly resembles the feelings of closure and progression past painful experiences/emotions.
No Big Deal (I Love You):
In reaching the end of the album, audiences are left listening to No Big Deal (I love You), a song that has undoubtedly left many, including the artist themselves, in shambles. In never being afraid of writing openly about concepts such as hopelessness and fear, No Big Deal (I Love You) painstakingly details a recent relationship and the anxieties that have plagued it. Within the song, the theme of domesticity, or loving through action, is constant; mostly, it speaks to routine and dependability, two concepts that become ideal to those struggling with their own mental/physical/emotional stability (said from personal experience, absolutely!). Altogether, the music successfully matches the nuances of love and loving – feeling easy yet suffocating, exhilarating, and terrifying simultaneously. Paired with a bittersweet bride of confessions that remain unheard, Dodie consolidated their art as personal and raw and something that required a call to my therapist after listening to it!