Success and lust are an attempt to fuel Doja Cat’s boring new album “Scarlet.”

Earlier this year, Doja Cat mocked her fans for enjoying her old “mediocre pop music,” suggesting she has plans to start moving away from the genre in her future projects. Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting what Doja Cat’s next album would sound like.

After much anticipation, Doja Cat released “Scarlet” in September. 22. And while it’s certainly stylistically different from her previous releases, the album lacks the infectious, addictive charm that made her records “Hot Pink” (2019) and “Planet Her” (2021) so popular. Doja Cat’s half-baked attempt to transcend pop music is laudable, but her new songs aren’t impressive enough to justify the shift.

The songs on “Scarlet” fall into two categories: bold comparisons of Doja Cat haters and softer reflections on her contentment with life. By playing with these disparate themes, she had the potential to create a dynamic album, but many of the tracks are indistinguishable from each other, making it difficult for listeners to determine where one track ends and the next begins.

Doja Cat opens the album with “Paint the Town Red,” which still retains the pop flavor of her early work. The song was released as a single on August 4 and features a looped sample of Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By” in the background. Through her lyrics, she defends her fame and reaffirms her status as a hugely successful musician. Although the song is catchy, the lack of variation causes it to continue without any interesting developments to keep listeners hooked.

Doja Cat enjoys her accomplishments and outshines her critics in the next two songs. But again, the tracks sound very similar to each other. On “Demons,” Doja Cat mocks these critics by asking, “What do my demons look like / Now that my pockets are full.” She then flaunts those full pockets in “Wet Vagina”, using her wetness as a metaphor for the fact that wealth is “dripping” off of her. While the song signals her attempt at a more rap-oriented style, it ends up being a less feminine version of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP.”

In the following tracks “F*ck the Girls (FTG)” and “Ouchies”, the album reveals Doja Cat’s defense of her competitors, attempting to assert her complete independence from everyone around her. The energy slows down with “97,” whose softer R&B melody is overshadowed by the way the singer repeats “Guess we don’t give in like…” over and over again.

The album’s theme switches completely from “Gun”. Full of sexual innuendo—some more subtle than others—the track recalls the buoyant, effervescent style of her song “Kiss Me More” from Planet Her. The following songs “Go Off” and “Shutcho” continue this lightness with their airy vocals and laid-back rhythm.

“Agora Hills” is undoubtedly one of the most popular tracks from the album. It’s a dreamy anthem about wanting to show off your lover, which stands in stark contrast to the satanic themes that Doja Cat used to promote this album. By adopting a valley girl-esque intonation in the opening verses and inserting cheesy voicemails throughout, Doja Cat practically takes on a whole new persona with this song. Love continues to promote this segment of the record with “Can’t Wait,” in which she sings about all the things she’ll do to stay close to her lover. Her hypnotic vocals lift the chorus, but the song again falls into the trap of being too long and repetitive.

Next on the album are “Often” and “Love Life,” laid-back, rhythmic tracks that successfully fulfill Doja Cat’s goal of breaking away from pop music. But while they may be different from her other discographies, there’s not enough contrast between the two songs. The energy picks up a bit with “Skull and Bones,” whose intrigue lies beyond the catchy beat and smooth instrumentals. In the lyrics, Doja Cat addresses criticism that she sold her soul to the devil in order to achieve fame. Debunking these conspiracy theories, she sings, “The only thing I sold was a record.”

“Attention”, released as a single on June 16, is accompanied by brilliant instrumental compositions and hypnotic vocals. With this track, Doja Cat seems to be addressing listeners by saying, “You follow me, but you don’t really care about the lyrics.” Earlier this summer, Doja Cat sparked controversy after she mocked her fans’ parasocial relationships with her. After losing almost 200,000 followers on Instagram, she wrote that she now feels like a huge weight has been lifted from her. So the title is almost laced with irony – she really doesn’t mind going unnoticed.

The penultimate track “Balut” is a kind of boring ending to the album. It brings together the monotony of “Often” and “Love Life” and forces listeners to abandon the excitement they may have gained from the previous few songs. She tries to recapture that energy with “WYM Freestyle,” which revives the confrontational vibe from the album’s start. But what she may have intended to be an explosive finale to her proposed musical revolution ends up simply imitating the same style as previous Scarlet tracks. In its stripped-down form, “Scarlet” could have left its mark on Doja Cat’s discography as a groundbreaking triumph, but as it stands, there are too many tracks that get lost in the weeds.