Dee Holt - Loving in the Dark
In recent time, Canada appears to be a cesspool of up-and-coming musicians. It seems like everyday there’s a new rising star from Toronto, Winnipeg, or even Saskatoon popping up on my feed. There’s Crownlands, the fiery rock duo from Oshawa. There’s also The Aubreys, another duo residing in the indie category from Vancouver. Then, you have Dee Holt, the indie pop soloist from Montreal.
At just 20 years old, the same age as these two thumbs, Holt is already making a name for herself through her music. With an EP titled I’ll Be There and a plethora of fresh singles under her belt, Holt continues to prevail as a force to be reckoned with in the indie pop game. Especially with her newest EP, Loving in the Dark.
Loving in the Dark opens up with Leaving Alone. The song possesses a vibe found in pop music that scoured the charts in the early 2010s, holding a sound similar to those of Halsey, Katy Perry, and even Lady Gaga. Holt sings of moving on and its bittersweetness through lines such as “I’m scared to get used to a life that’s not with you”. Though its lyricism is no doubt clever, from a sound standpoint, this song lacks a certain je ne sais quoi for me. It’s something we’ve heard before as listeners but that also means there’s only room for improvement and ingenuity, giving Holt a blank canvas to move forward with.
Moving onto the second track, Tunnel Vision, listeners get a more intimate sound with a surprisingly prominent bass line. The song’s theme revolves around the idea of receiving a one-track-mind train of thought over a guy, something many young woman can surely relate to. Holt sings “I got tunnel vision with you. Oh boy boy boy boy, stuck in your star struck. Adrenaline is high or maybe I’m just seasick when you look into my eyes and drift down to my lips”, which appears to be the driving line within the song.
With Pick up Your Shoes, Holt approaches singing in a more Billie-Eilish style that’s mysterious and alluring. Specifically, it sounds like a piece that would fit perfectly on her 2017 EP Don’t Smile at Me, the record that sort of kickstarted her career in pop. Now, it’s too early to say if this same destiny is in store for Holt but in contrast to the previous two songs, Pick up Your Shoes definitely has a unique twang in addition to the obvious influence we’ve been hearing; which is refreshing to hear.
Make a Move begins with an enthralling instrumental section, another surprise compared to the start of Loving in the Dark. In all honesty, I was expecting the instruments to be a mere afterthought based on the over-simplicity of Leaving Alone and Tunnel Vision, but this dissolved that assumption. The layered guitar tracks bring a bubbly funkiness to the general vibes of the song and the heaviness of the bass guitar melds with it, providing more depth overall. Again, this song is super Billie Eilish-esque but it skews awfully close to the lines of ripping her off though I doubt that was the intention. Holt’s vocals are just so uncanny, it’s difficult not to make that connection.
Loving in the Dark ends with Fool’s Gold. Fool’s gold itself is often used to describe faux gold that is much less valuable than the real thing, many times it’s incorporated into songs and other forms of literature to convey the idea of something seeming alluring that ends up backfiring and being worthless or disappointing at best. Holt sings of this exact metaphor through phrases like “I know I’ll never live this down; what I thought I found. Your love was just fool’s gold. It felt so real how could I know? It used to shine but now it’s broke”. With Fool’s Gold being the closing track off this EP, I had hopes for it to be monumental or at least a song that pulled out all stops but it unfortunately resorts back to the previous agenda of instrumentals taking a back seat in a way that damages the final product. There is no doubt that Holt can sing and write, this EP just needed a little extra oomph in production when it comes to instrumentals and automation.
After the release of Loving in the Dark, Dee Holt has an upcoming performance at The Canadian National Exhibition on August 21st at the Bandshell stage. Furthermore, she has a set at this year’s annual Sommo Festival in Cavendish on September 13th where she and other reputable acts such as Noah Kahan, The Beaches, and more will also take the stage.
Loving in the Dark is available for streaming anywhere you find music as of publishing and as for Dee Holt, I believe all she can do is go up. I cannot wait to see where she is in five, maybe even ten years.
Click here to visit Dee’s official website where you will find merch, info, and more.