Human
Growing up on YouTube isn’t easy. British singer-songwriter dodie, born Dorothy Clark, has experienced immense fame from her ever-increasing online fanbase, but it hasn’t come without pitfalls. “I think over the years of posting, talking about my life and also singing about it, you learn where to put the boundaries, and I think I’ve learned that now,” she tells Apple Music. “Hopefully. I mean, I’m human…” And that’s the theme of this seven-track EP, which explores the guilt, loss, and frustration of the early twenties to the accompaniment of intimate melodies and polished, strings-assisted pop. “There were a lot of mistakes in my life, and heartbreak and learning and growing, which you can see in each song,” she says. Part of her success has always stemmed from this kind of openness. Standout track “Burned Out” is “about the pressures of being known and how it can be too much,” she says. The song first appeared on her channel in 2017 as an acoustic webcam musing. Here, it’s transformed into something fully formed—glossy and orchestral while retaining its introspective charm. Lively road-trip sing-along “Monster” is the product of a personal challenge. “I noticed that all of my set list was really sad,” she says. “So I thought, *I should probably write more upbeat songs*.” But even with these cheerier tones, *Human* is full of deliciously melancholy feelings. Clark herself is perfectly OK with that. And her message to fans? “Apply the songs to whatever’s happening in your life and cry it out.”