Dove Cameron’s career in the entertainment industry started with acting. Now she has reinvented her identity as an alternative-pop singer/songwriter with the first part of her debut album, “Alchemical: Volume 1.” Released on Dec. 1, 2023, the album includes the songs from her EP, “Sand,” released in early November. Cameron also includes her previous hits from early 2022, further exploring themes of gender roles and power dynamics.
Cameron’s smooth vocals and captivating lyrics create a villain-like feel to the album, starting with her first song, “Lethal Woman.” The song is about Cameron’s attraction to a dangerous but irresistible woman. Sounds of maniacal laughter and banging on a door complete the manic feeling of the song.
“She walks like a saint, floats like an angel / Sharp like a knife under the table,” Cameron sings.
Cameron embraces these feelings of attraction, singing about how she feels a connection between her and the woman in the song.
“Hallelujah baby, light it up, take your (aim) / Know that I’m coming to get you ’cause game recognizes game,” Cameron sings
In “Breakfast,” a song she previously released, Cameron flips traditional gender roles, which are often oppressive. The music video starts with her in a suit, reading the newspaper, while her husband serves her breakfast. Cameron challenges gender power dynamics and the struggles women face because of them. The lyrics add to the unhinged feeling present throughout the album.
“I eat boys like you for breakfast / One by one hung on my necklace,” Cameron sings.
In her next track, Cameron shifts away from her bold lyrics to “Sand,” a song with a slower, more wistful theme. She questions why she is in a relationship that she knows will not work out but cannot seem to leave.
“I ignore the signs and I don’t know why / ‘Cause, baby, I / I saw the end when we began / You couldn’t love the way I can / I tried to bargain with the stars / For more than half your heart,” Cameron sings.
Cameron explores her feelings toward her partner, singing about how she loves them more than they love her, feeding into a relationship that will not last in the long term.
“But you have more pieces of me than the desert has sand / And I have less pieces of you than I can hold in my hand,” Cameron sings.
Another previously released track on the album, “Boyfriend,” a song quick to become a hit in 2022, gave Cameron her initial breakthrough in the music industry. The queer anthem is about Cameron charming another man’s girlfriend, convincing her that she could be a better partner.
“Thinking I’m gonna steal you from him / I could be such a gentleman,” Cameron sings.
Cameron ends the first part of her debut album with “FRAGILE THINGS,” a song with slower notes and a calmer, resigned feeling. The song ties into “Sand” but now she explores the lingering damage of a failed relationship with an unstable foundation.
“Love is like a house of fragile things / Where hearts can be broken as easy as antiques / And now there’s glass all shattered at my feet / What we built together, you left in smithereens,” Cameron sings.
“Alchemical: Volume 1” takes the listener on a personal and intimate journey through Cameron’s experiences and growth. Her vulnerability shines through the lyrics, both in the villainous songs and the lovesick ones. Cameron reinvents her persona with her debut album, establishing herself as an artist with multiple sides to her story.