ALBUM REVIEWS
Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal
AOTY REVIEW BY MEGAN JENKINS
2024 was a real mixed bag for Album of the Year contenders. While the summer was dominatedby the lime green shades of Charli XCX, artists like Fontaines DC and Knocked Loose held theirown against a titan of pop to show that they are worthy contenders for the title.
My own numberone spot goes to an artist that muscled her way onto my radar in the latter half of the year andsubsequently took over my ‘On Repeat’ playlist; Doechii. Making her debut in 2016 and later finding fame with 2020’s ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’, Doechiiquickly became defined by the bubbly, softer aesthetics associated with viral hit “Yucky BluckyFruitcake” and has spent the time since trying to shake this identity. In her releases since, she’smoved into more dangerous territory and adopted the more assertive and harder hittingattitudes of her peers.
In these five years since she has amassed collaborations with big-name artists like Katy Perry and Tyler, the Creator, signed to Kendrick Lamar’s former label Top Dawg Entertainment, earned the stamp of approval from the man himself, charted with a platinum single, and amassed a huge new following to go with these accolades. ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’ has earned Doechii 3 Grammy nominations - it's a prestigious honour in itself but being the first female nominated in the ‘Best Rap Album’ category since 2019 makes it that much sweeter.
Everywhere you turn right now, Doechii is there. In large part it's down to her incredible artistryand a number of late night performances that have captured the attention of the most unlikely of audiences on shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Her instantly iconic NPR TinyDesk set has people bowing down to the self-proclaimed ‘Swamp Princess’ from Tampa Bayand treating her like the music royalty she is quickly becoming.
Naturally the performances capture attention, but the music itself is of course what grabbed theattention of masses during its release. Doechii has blended everything from punk, to house &dance music, to the old school hip hop and rap that form the basis to create something sodiverse that still manages to feel cohesive. She offsets assertive tracks like ‘Bullfrog’ and thefast-paced obscenities of ‘Nissan Altima’ with more intimate, slower paced R&B stylings ontracks like ‘Bloom’ and ‘Wait’, allowing her to showcase her skills as a vocalist.A highlight track for many is understandably ‘Denial is a River’. It's the first real taste manylisteners may get of her storytelling abilities on this record, detailing a story of resilience whilefacing impending burn-out and the frenzy of everyday life whilst thrust in the spotlight. It's abattle between keeping up with the momentum built, and giving yourself a rest. Toward the endof this therapy session with her alter-ego therapist, she’s advised to partake in a rhythmicbreathing exercise that closes the track with frantic panting. It's new, it's different, and it feelsfresh.Doechii has forgone all the ‘rules’ of genre to produce a record that is equal parts ambitious anddiverse. It shows us her versatility and vulnerability, never letting herself be compartmentalizedby a single genre in order to tell her story.