The genre-blending album Vie, recently released by music artist phenomenon, Doja Cat, has caused a stir amongst fans and has been the fifth studio album released throughout her career.
With a mixture of R&B funk and it-girl pop vibes, Doja Cat brings 80s-inspired synth sounds to new-age life and a softer sound from her prior 2023 album, Scarlet.
Doja Cat has been creating and releasing music since 2018, when she was seventeen and has never been scared to take risks and pave her own way for her music.
The fifteen song, forty-nine-minute album with a feature from SZA is no different.
This album has been called erratic by some fans and critics, but that’s how she likes it.
Her funky and incredibly unique style has never been something she’s shied away from and songs like, “AAAHH MEN!,” “Take Me Dancing(feat. SZA),” and “Happy ” all bring a different vibe that make for a surprisingly quirky yet cohesive album, completely in tune with Doja Cat’s personal genre of music by tying in throwback inspiration.
With executive producer Jack Antonoff working on nine of the fifteen tracks, he included his own 80s-inspired flair to Doja Cat’s songs.
Flirty lyrics fluttered about this project and flew audiences into Doja Cat’s view of men and romance.
Her second song, “Jealous Type,” portrays her frustration with feeling uncertain in relationships and wanting clarity because, as she sings, “I can’t hurt you, sure, but I’m the jealous type.”
Even though we see verses in her third track, “AAAHH MEN!” like, “Am I gay or am I just angry, “I feel shame because you’re such a pain / But my DNA wants your D in me” that expresses her creative spin on her complex feelings of men.
Allowing for a mixture of up-and-down emotions that fans can relate and sing along to cause for a hit album.
Critics like Rolling Stone have made jabs that this album, although fun and true to Doja Cat’s style, could be viewed as a “mediocre pop” album that is “money-grabbing” and yet, “It’s the sound of Doja Cat at her most playful and unpredictable,” Rolling Stone said.
While this album definitely is a good time with some head-swaying, foot-tapping hits, some of the standout lyrics get buried beneath major pop sounds and a somewhat repetitive formula to every song.
While Doja Cat has been known to make provocative choices and keep a whimsical sparkle in all of her music, this album seemed like she wanted to elevate her career beyond her past albums and sing more about her personal experiences in a more vulnerable way.
“Duality has always made Doja Cat a more compelling artist, and Vie proves she thrives when she’s embodying every version of herself. Instead of committing to one lane, she treats the album as an experiment in blending eras and styles,” Kiana Fitzgerald, writer for Consequence, said in a review about the artist’s recent album.
This album isn’t a total rebrand for the star but it does seem like she’s trying to find a stable sense of self with help of the release of Vie.
Whether you enjoy listening to Doja Cat find a deeper version of her own style during this piece of work or you love the various genres and inspirations she drew from to create this album, you’re in for a fun time.
Stream Vie wherever you get your music and be on the lookout for more content from Doja Cat.
