After two weeks of cryptic Youtube clues, Dodie (Dodie Clarke, singer-songwriter and online figure) has revealed her debut album Build A Problem, due for release in March 2021. Her online advertising started with a series of short and irreverent Youtube videos, where at the end of each one, Dodie would reveal a letter that she had knitted while she was chatting to the camera. The end result spelt out Build A Problem. After fans had guessed the album name, she revealed it in full today (October 19), also premiering first single, ‘Cool Girl’ as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record.

my debut album

BUILD A PROBLEM

is out March 5th

the first single, COOL GIRL
will be premiered on @BBCR1 TONIGHT at 6pm as @AnnieMac ‘s Hottest Record

the album will be available to preorder at https://t.co/Og7lz947iR after it’s been played

SEE YOU THERE! pic.twitter.com/qVt2kOd9yF

— dodie (@doddleoddle) October 19, 2020

Build A Problem is Dodie’s first album, but it follows a series of carefully crafted EPs with cult followings: Intertwined, You and Human. She is famous for her acoustic style and her cuttingly honest lyrics about everything: love and loss, mental health, growing up alongside the internet, sexuality. ‘Cool Girl’, the first single from Build A Problem, is no different.

‘Cool Girl’ is three minutes of Dodie’s trademark intimacy with her fans; she lays herself bare, insecurities, vulnerabilities and all, in few words and a succinct and catchy chorus. She talks candidly with Annie Mac about how the sentiment of the song – making oneself a little quieter, a little more aloof and ultimately less engaged – is not something that she wishes to promote, but just to acknowledge how people go through it sometimes.

‘Cool Girl’ was a last-minute addition to an album that has been in the works for some time; Dodie wrote it in lockdown and recorded it as some of the restrictions eased up. It is stripped back but stylish, and for fans it will likely feel like the natural progression of Dodie’s ever-growing musical talents. The harmonies are harrowing. You can watch the lyric video below.

The honesty of ‘Cool Girl’ anticipates the rest of Build A Problem, Dodie declares. She told the Metro: ‘I was very unsure of who I was and I was trying to figure it out in music … so I think it’s quite unstable of an album – but it’s definitely honest.’

On Annie Mac’s Future Sounds, she speaks about her mixed feelings about being honest, and having to be honest in interviews and other promotional material throughout the press cycle of Build A Problem. Make no mistake – Dodie sounds extremely excited to be releasing an album, but she is clear about its mental challenges and the care that needs taking with some of her subject matter. Her fans will undoubtedly be grateful though; Dodie has always had a remarkable way of just sharing reality.