Build a Problem
| dodie
Build a Problem
Build a Problem is the first studio album by English singer-songwriter dodie. Previously, dodie released three extended plays: Intertwined (2016), You (2017), and Human (2019). She had also been releasing songs on her YouTube channel since 2011. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Although Dodie Clark came to fame for her chatty and intimate viral videos, she proves the exception to the rule about internet stars making terrible music. Her debut studio album spotlights the sparse and self-conscious folk-pop she’s been making for nearly a decade.
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The Guardian
Dodie Clark proves that she’s more than just a YouTube sensation on this promisingly ambitious first album.
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Sputnik Music
Build a Problem is a really special kind of record, one that uses musical subtlety and Dodie’s emotional baggage to tackle topics that many would feel uncomfortable confronting. It’s as if we’re peering into a window to observe an alien who constantly feels imposed upon, and perhaps we can relate to her a little more than we’d like to admit.
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The Boar
Build a Problem reproduces the disorientating, liminal space between your own brain and reality, distorted through layers of anxiety, doubt and hope. Travelling to depths of emotion and introspection yet to be seen from dodie, the album swirls together moving lyrics and equally emotional instrumentation to create an album that is best experienced in one continuous listen. To have a debut record be so confident in its airy style, but still burst with vicious emotion, suggests only good things for dodie’s future progression as an artist.
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DIY Magazine
Woven with cautionary tales, witty one-liners and a painful level of self-awareness, once dodie has finished “building a problem” she can start to build a home.
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Grimy Goods
DODIE FINDS BEAUTY IN THE STRUGGLE ON DEBUT “BUILD A PROBLEM”.
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Evening Standard
dark and rich, this is a power move.
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Vinyl Chapters
There is not one bad track nor bad thing I can say about the new dodie album, Build A Problem. It is beautiful and perfectly imperfect.
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All Music
The minimalism of Dodie's songs gracefully juxtaposes their sophistication, helping to illuminate the many revelatory pop moments that can be heard throughout Build a Problem.
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The Upcoming
There have been a lot of songs written about the follies of adolescence, many of them not particularly elucidating (if still lovely), but this album is marked by a real wisdom, with even the simplest couplets delivering unexpected depth.
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Daily Bruin
Dodie’s debut album showcases artist’s honesty, musical growth.
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The Courier Online
Build a Problem is both bright pop and heartfelt indie rooted in dark reality, and while the whole album may not be everyone’s cup of tea, any listener will find at least one track that appeals to them.
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The Line of Best Fit
Soundtracked by a delicate alt pop sound, Build A Problem is dodie owning her vulnerability.
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The Daily Californian
Dodie’s growth as a musician has been incredibly inspiring during her 10 years on YouTube. Build a Problem serves as a representation of this growth, emphasizing the artist’s renowned skill in crafting songs that represent vulnerable feelings in honest ways — a feat that, for her first studio album, should be wholeheartedly praised.
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The Stanford Daily
Personally, I’m very happy to hear this sound from Dodie, who has been very vocal about her pride in this work, and rightfully so. “Build a Problem” defines obscure sorrows with a quiet but powerful voice, speaking deeply to Dodie’s personal experience and her profound musical talent. I maintain that she would be an excellent film composer, but for now it’s amazing just to see her expanding as a musician, as a person and as an indie/folk/pop star.
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The Forty-Five
Dodie outgrew yellow, and she may outgrow Youtube, but the new album ensures she’ll retain her audience as she steps from bedroom to studio, from internet to mainstream. The record doesn’t rewrite her pencilled thoughts, just goes over them in shiny pen. ‘Build A Problem’ follows Dodie’s USP to a tee. To fault it feels like building a problem that doesn’t need to exist.
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Clash Magazine
Unmistakably hers, dodie’s debut is wholly realised and polished in its sound. A beautiful vessel for messy emotions, 'Build A Problem' is a tour of the highs and lows of living and loving in your teens, twenties and probably beyond; raw, full of questions and yet celebratory as it revels in its big emotions.
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Square One Magazine
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.
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