Rating: 3/5
Doja Cat’s latest drop, “Vie,” seems slightly disarranged from the rest of her discography and general style. The majority of the album is pop-influenced, with incredible harmonies sung and layered by the artist; however, the mixture of styles like synth pop and rap seems off for this release. It sounds appealingly similar to what is currently circulating in mainstream media. While it is only natural for artists to follow music trends, this record does not seem instrumentally connected with her personality.
The Sabrina Carpenter 80s pop style is easy to notice in “Vie.” One of the major producers for “Vie,” Jack Antonoff, may be the reason behind this. When working with other artists, Antonoff produces and co-writes songs. In this case, it sounds like Antonoff discarded Doja Cat’s originality and rebranded her for the sake of mainstream media. While it is not uncommon or intriguing to see artists approach unfamiliar styles of music, especially with trending sounds, it can also cause controversy and confusion among listeners. Regardless, this change minimizes the artist’s authenticity — the main reason why listeners enjoy a certain artist or song.
The record seems mushy in the majority of the songs. It has sweet harmonies, synths, and 80s style beats before Doja Cat starts rapping her signature sharp lyrics. The tracks would often randomly go back into the pop style, as seen in “Stranger.” That strange cycle carries on throughout the entire album and gives it an out-of-place and repetitive feel. The musical genres do not blend well, but instead sound as if they are fighting to overpower each other.
The statistics prove this album was not as successful as her previous work. This could be due to the singer’s past controversies or simply the style of the album. When comparing past Doja Cat releases, most of the songs were hits. In the album “Hot Pink,” the majority of the songs were popular on TikTok. Later, singles like “Agora Hills,” “Paint The Town Red” and “Kiss Me More” are all incredible hits. The same hype is not apparent for her most recent album. There are no TikTok trends, and generally, the album had little to no promotion. Doja Cat has always been sharp and edgy in her music, reflecting her personality, which is not immensely heard in this compilation. The overused pop sounds echoing is what makes it unmoving.
Despite these flaws, the album is not entirely a miss; it is simply confusing. Some pleasant tracks are “Acts of Service” and “Lipstain,” with slow beats and Doja Cat’s witty lyrics. The single “Jealous Type,” released on Aug. 21, has 58 million streams on Spotify. Despite this being a high amount of streams, it is low in comparison to other of the singer’s hits. The general choruses of the songs were ethereal with layers of harmonies that sound pleasant; but, again, the mix of styles should melt, not clash.
