| Alchemical: Volume 1 | |
| Type: | Studio Album |
| Artist: | Dove Cameron |
| Cover: | Alchemical Volume 1.jpg |
| Released: | December 1, 2023 |
| Recorded: | 2021–2023 |
| Label: | |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Liv and Maddie |
| Prev Year: | 2015 |
Alchemical: Volume 1 is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter and actress Dove Cameron. It was released on December 1, 2023, through Disruptor and Columbia. Cameron originally intended to release a full album entitled Alchemical with it being split up in two halves. The album is primarily a pop and alt-pop record, with lyrical content centered around love, grief and self-reflection.
The album was preceded by the singles "Boyfriend", "Breakfast", "Lethal Woman" and "Sand". "Boyfriend" gained viral attention on TikTok, received critical acclaim and reached top-twenty on the Billboard Hot 100. Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews with praise to the songwriting and Cameron's vocals.
After various single releases, Cameron announced in 2022 that she had begun work on a new EP and released the single "Boyfriend" which went viral on TikTok and reached top-ten in various countries.[1] [2] After its release, Cameron reset her public music catalog, removing her older releases from all streaming services. She noted that she had changed her upcoming EP to a two-part album titled Alchemical.[3] On the album's split, Cameron noted that she "felt like [she] was writing the two halves in such different headspaces" calling it a "stark sonic page turn".[4]
On July 24, 2023, Dove told Variety that she was really close to finishing the record.[5] The album was released on December 1, 2023.[6]
Alchemical: Volume 1 is primarily a pop, alt-pop, and goth-pop record. The album lyrical content centers around love, breakups, self-reflection and grief and was described as a "looking glass into [Cameron's] intricate and impressively balanced. The EP also incorporates a mix of ballads, orchestral elements and electronic dance music breakdowns. Washington Square News writer Eleanor Jacobs noted that the production team "utilizes deconstruction and are unafraid of mess as a means toward reflecting Cameron's honesty".
Cameron has stated that she was mostly inspired by her mother and American poet Jack Gilbert, adding that she loves to read poetry that "feels so human that [she's] reminded that we are eternal because all of these experiences are so varied and so many that it's actually universal".[7]
The album opens with the song "Lethal Woman".[6] The song was described as a "dramatic opening statement" and Cameron's vocals were compared to that of a Disney villain.[6] The song lyrically centers around a woman Cameron met at a party who exuded "confidence, sensuality and danger". This is followed by the somber ballad, "Still", which received a comparison to Mykola Leontovych's, "Carol of the Bells". Michael Cragg noted that Cameron's "sultry voice adds a sinister dimension".
"Breakfast" was described as a "vulnerable track infused with rage".[3] Cameron noted that it "emerged from vulnerable conversations in the studio" and based it on an experience she had where there was "a power imbalance dynamic in a relationship with a straight man".[3] She added that while writing the song, she dived "into radical honesty to keep conversations going that were previously silenced, such as highlighting the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups".[3]
This was followed by "Sand" which was called the album's highlight and spoke on a toxic and unrequited relationship, "capturing the complexity of navigating a relationship where love is imbalanced". The song's songwriting received praise, being called "poetic and impactful". Cameron originally wrote the song as a poem. "White Glove" was called "camp-pop" and centers around living a luxury life with "with sex, money and drugs". The song was compared to the opening track's darkness. "God's Game" was described as haunting where Cameron sings about the "unpredictability of love" and vulnerability, noting that "[she] is no home for [someone]". In the song, Cameron reflects on her career.
"Boyfriend" was hailed as a queer anthem.[3] The song "prowls around with a seductive swagger amid volcanic beat eruptions". The album concludes with "Fragile Things" which was called ethereal and serene, with Cameron drawing parallels "between her doomed romantic relationship and a house of fragile things". Cameron uses her low, sultry vocals on the finale, and is accompanied by a slow, high-pitched piano before building up to incorporate strings in a staccato manner. The song was compared to a pensive waltz that likens an old relationship to a dilapidated house.
Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews. Dork writer Martyn Young called the album "short, sharp and direct".[6] He called Cameron a rising star, noting that the album "leaves you tantalisingly, and wanting more from an artist on the precipice of pop glory".[6] Washington Square News writer Eleanor Jacobs also praised the album's songwriting although she noted some criticism for the tracklist, feeling that "the emotional arrangement feels too intentional to create any ongoing narrative within the tracklist, but is perhaps meant to establish a divide between the artist's past and present".[8] She called the album "rife with reminiscence as well as a longing for healing and conclusion".[8]
The Statesman writer Clare Gehlich gave the album high praise and felt it was "a culmination of Cameron writing music to process and express the trauma tied to her past relationships with moments of self-discovery".[9] The Guardian writer Michael Cragg gave the album three stars, and compared Cameron to Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey.[10] Contrastingly, another writer for the same newspaper felt the album fell flat calling it a "failed experiment".[11] He called Cameron a "black sheep" amongst Disney-turned-popstars Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter, critiquing the album's production.[11]
Cameron had stated that she would embark on a tour in 2024.[12]
"Boyfriend" was released as the lead single on February 11, 2022.[13] The song became a commercial success and reached 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart becoming Cameron's first entry since 2015.[13] It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 2024.[14] A music video was released simultaneously and has since surpassed over 85 million views.[3]
The album's second single, "Breakfast", followed in June 2023 with an accompanying music video in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.[15] The video went on to win Video for Good at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.[16]
On October 20, 2023, the single "Lethal Woman" was made available alongside the album's pre-order.[17] [18] "Sand" was released as the fourth and final single of the album, accompanied with a music video featuring Josh Beauchamp.[19]
Alchemical: Volume 1 debuted at 41 on the UK Album Downloads Chart.
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| UK Album Downloads Chart[20] | 41 |
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