Dee Holt Turns Uncertainty Into Hypnotic Indie-Pop on “Figure It Out”

There’s something quietly compelling about a song that refuses to pretend it has the answers. On “figure it out,” Montreal indie-pop artist dee holt turns uncertainty into atmosphere, returning after nearly two years with a track that feels less like a grand reintroduction than an intimate glimpse into an artist in transition.

Written during a formative trip through Europe, “figure it out” finds holt wrestling with the uncomfortable space between where you are and where you think you should be. Questions about purpose, direction and whether she’s investing herself in the right things sit at the heart of the song, but holt wisely avoids forcing those thoughts toward an easy resolution. Instead, she lets the uncertainty linger.

That restraint is also what makes the production work. “figure it out” unfolds patiently, favoring texture and gradual movement over immediate payoff. There’s a hypnotic quality to the track as its layers accumulate, creating a sense of emotional suspension before eventually swelling into a more cathartic climax. The production mirrors the song’s central idea remarkably well: sometimes clarity doesn’t arrive all at once. Sometimes you simply have to sit inside the confusion long enough to find your own way through it.

Holt’s vocal performance is equally understated. Rather than overselling the song’s introspection, she delivers it with a softness that makes the internal questioning feel believable. Her voice remains the grounding force as the arrangement expands around her, giving “figure it out” the intimacy of an internal monologue even at its biggest moments.

It also feels like a natural progression from the increasingly adventurous pop instincts holt explored on 2024’s loving in the dark. Since releasing her earliest music at 18, she has steadily moved beyond straightforward indie-pop toward something more atmospheric and artful, and “figure it out” suggests that time away has only sharpened those instincts.

Most importantly, the song understands that growing older doesn’t necessarily mean becoming more certain. Sometimes maturity is recognizing that nobody else can hand you a map for your life. The realization could easily become sentimental in another artist’s hands, but holt keeps it grounded in the messiness of actually arriving there.

As a first release in nearly two years, “figure it out” doesn’t sound like dee holt attempting to reclaim where she left off. It sounds like an artist allowing herself to begin somewhere new. And fittingly, she doesn’t seem particularly interested in telling us exactly where that will lead.