Doja Cat built her reputation on clever hooks and sharper wit. On Scarlet, she drops both. This is a reactive record, less about making hits than about answering insults from last season’s run. It’s the biggest album to be so concerned with posting, which doesn’t give it the blockbuster quality it deserves.
Opening Run
“Paint the Town Red” opens the album with a sharp hook and a clear thesis: she’s not backing down. “Demons” and “Wet Vagina” follow fast, and neither earns its place. They’re competent, but they exist to fill space between the songs that matter.
“F**k the Girls” is the first real statement of intent. It’s pointed, direct, and it lands. “Ouchies” is shorter, sweeter, and slighter — a palate cleanser that passes without much fuss.
“97” picks the pace back up. It’s one of the tracks critics singled out, and it’s easy to hear why: the production is tight, the delivery is sure, and it doesn’t waste a second.
Middle Stretch
“Gun” is a quiet turn — moody, slower, and more atmospheric than anything else on the record. It works as a breather, even if it doesn’t hit the way “97” does.
“Go Off” and “Shutcho” sit together as filler. Neither has a distinct identity beyond the rhythm they share, and both pass quickly enough to forget immediately after they stop.
“Agora Hills” is the other standout named by critics. It’s the longest track on the record at 4:25, and it earns every second of its runtime. The song builds, holds, and resolves without losing tension — it’s the album’s high point.
“Can’t Wait,” “Often,” and “Love Life” form a loose middle stretch. None of them embarrass the record, but none of them elevate it either. “Often” gets singled out by critics, and it’s easy to hear why — it’s the most melodic moment on the album, with a chorus that sticks.
“It’s probably the biggest album to be so concerned with posting, which doesn’t give it the blockbuster quality it deserves.”
“Skull and Bones” is darker, moodier — a brief detour into heavier textures before the record’s final push. It’s not a failure, but it’s not a highlight either.
“Attention” is the album’s boldest swing. It’s the longest track after “Agora Hills,” and it aims for scale — the kind of track that could anchor a bigger record. Here, it feels like a reach.
“Balut” closes the main body of the record, and it’s one of the strongest tracks critics named. It’s short, sharp, and funny — everything the album wants to be.
“WYM Freestyle” is the final track on the album, a short, unvarnished closer that sums up the whole project in miniature. It’s the least polished moment on the record, and it plays that way on purpose.
The Verdict
Scarlet is a record about fighting back, and it does that job well. What it doesn’t do is build a blockbuster. The album is reactive, repetitive, and obsessed with posting and responding to last season’s insults. That focus is the record’s strength and its weakness.
The tracks that work — “Paint the Town Red,” “97,” “Agora Hills,” “Often,” “Balut” — are strong enough to carry the whole thing. The ones that don’t — “Demons,” “Go Off,” “Shutcho,” “Skull and Bones” — are forgettable enough to be ignored. The album’s best moments are as good as anything she’s put out, but its weaker stretches are more frequent than they should be.
This is a solid, uneven record from an artist who knows exactly what she’s doing. It just doesn’t always know when to stop doing it.
- Paint the Town Red — the thesis statement
- 97 — one of the best tracks here
- Agora Hills — the high point
- Often — the most melodic moment
- Balut — the sharp closer
Scarlet is a record that knows its own mind. It just doesn’t always know when to stop thinking.
- Paint the Town Red3:50
- Demons3:16
- Wet Vagina3:12
- F**k the Girls (FTG)2:33
- Ouchies2:02
- 972:58
- Gun2:57
- Go Off3:17
- Shutcho3:07
- Agora Hills4:25
- Can’t Wait3:55
- Often3:18
- Love Life3:57
- Skull and Bones4:08
- Attention4:36
- Balut3:25
- WYM Freestyle2:04
