Vie Is For Vintage: Doja Cat's Retro Revival
- mariahsturdivant21
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Genre: Pop Label: RCA
Doja Cat's fifth studio album, Vie, is a glittering pop synth that marks a bold reinvention for the genre-bending artist. Trading the abrasive rap of Scarlet for pastel-hued vulnerability. Vie is a concept album about love, romance, and emotional risk wrapped into shimmering 1980s textures.
The album is anchored in Jack Antonoff's production, and his blend of vintage yet modern polish elevated Doja Cat's versatility. Other contributors include Ambezza, Y2K, Sounwav, and Scribz Riley. The result is a cohesive body of work.
The shaved eyebrows and cryptic messages are now a thing of the past. For Vie, Doja embraced softness through romantic visuals and pastel aesthetics. In her interviews, she was quite candid, describing Scarlet as a "get-it-out-of-my-system" album. She referred to Planet Her and Hot Pink as "cash-grabs". With Vie, she is finally making music for herself, according to Ms. Cat. This is evident in her lead single, featuring a synth beat on Jealous Type and the seductiveness of Gorgeous, accompanied by a music video with models and Doja's mother. The album poses the question, "What is life without love?" and answers it through this fifteen-track journey.
"Maybe in time we'll know. Maybe I'll fall in love, baby. Maybe we'll win some hearts. Baby, just play your cards"- Doja Cat on "Cards"
The album's opener, Cards, is showing that Doja wants to let her lover to play their cards right and she is looking for someone who knows how to act, who is strategic and sincere in their approach, not just random flings or shallow things. Doja Cat sonically honed onto the retro style on her tracks. and moodiness of All Mine which shows Doja in a possessive character spotlight. The experimental and playfulness of Silly! Fun! adds onto the chaotic nature of romance.
"Man I’m glad for that pre-nup we signed last Monday” – Doja Cat on ‘Silly! Fun!’
The album starts getting into some retro and dreamy groove as she describes her romantic escapisms on Take Me Dancing (ft SZA) . This bleeds into the warm melodic comfort in Love Languages as she describes the emotion fluency needed in relationship communication. Couples Therapy and One More Time also add a layer of relationship repair as it is very conversational and vulnerable. The painful decision to give the relationship a second chance after such emotional relationship damage.
“I just deleted Raya, that must mean I’m your provider / That just means imma be your rider” – Doja Cat on ‘Acts Of Service’
Make It Up explores the results of healthy communication between partners and the reconciliation of their relationship. She presents herself as someone willing to go above and beyond to rebuild trust in the newly restored connection. Acts of Service is a gentle reflection on love, combining emotional effort and relationship validation with sonic elegance. Doja questions whether tangible actions, such as receiving a key to her partner's home, truly indicate acommitment. Happy features some of the cleverer lyrics, celebrating the pursuit of joy and the power of emotional resilience. With its lively rhythms and shimmering textures, the track exudes optimism.
"Sticky situation so I reapply and gloss / Over the fact you not a threat, you need to realise your loss” – Doja Cat on ‘Lipstain’"
Along with the retro production, Doja has some clever lyrics on this album. This is evident in the sultry, slow-burning, and lingering intimacy track 'Lipstain,' which is another track that celebrates love and declaration of ownership. She uses the metaphor of a lipstick stain as a way to "mark her territory" in a relationship. It celebrates the idea of love in a public and free forum, rather than hidden away.
Aaah Men! is a satirical and emotionally charged track where Doja Cat critiques modern masculinity while wrestling with her own contradictions. The track blends funk and retro samples with the iconic theme of the 1982 TV show Knight Rider. In Doja Cat's artistic universe,
"Am I gay or just angry?"- Doja Cat on "Aaah Men!"
In the song Stranger, which follows in the steps of Gorgeous, it is about embracing yourself and the beauty of self-expression. She deepens the exploration of identity, celebrating uniqueness and non-traditional love. She transforms the term "strange" into a positive affirmation, emphasizing that embracing eccentricity is a source of empowerment.
"She’s in our bed, I bought the sheets” – Doja Cat on ‘Happy’
The album concludes with a powerful breakup anthem. This track really nails the struggle of breaking free from a toxic relationship, shining a light on how crucial it is to know your worth and the emotional drain that comes from pouring yourself into a love that just isn’t working. It perfectly captures the moment of making a bold decision to move on, recognizing the hurt of letting go while also celebrating the freedom and self-care that come with it.
Vie is Doja's most cohesive and emotionally rich album to date. There were some tracks that felt similar to some songs from her previous work, Scarlet, and the themes felt repetitive. However, Doja's excellent work on incorporating revamped production makes the album feel fresh. This mix of the old and new makes Vie a standout in her collection, showcasing just how much she's grown as an artist and how she's always looking to evolve her sound, which makes it an 8/10 album
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