Dodie – ‘Not For Lack Of Trying’ album review: The beautiful result of time and devotion
Dodie has been afforded a unique career. While we tend to talk a lot of shit about social media’s role in music, she got in during a golden heyday.
Building a dedicated following on YouTube, that following has stuck around, evolving with her and allowing her the time to evolve. They let her evolve into a serious musician on her 2021 debut, and now, returning four years later, they’ve let her grow into a truly fascinating one.
There are always people keen to instantly dismiss artists who get their starts from online fame, but in Dodie’s class, there are some serious talents. In the same friendship group, all meeting through the internet stratosphere, there’s Dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown, who all shrugged off their own artistic personas in 2023 to form Fizz and release a truly and gloriously maximalist record. There was also Lauren Aquilina, who has matured into a powerhouse songwriter, working for the likes of JADE, Rina Sawayama and a scattering of hyper-popular K-pop acts. In this one corner of the internet, there was pure gold, and all of them seemed to foster exactly what each and every artist dreams of, which is devotion.
On her debut back in 2021, Dodie cashed in on that devotion to release a mammoth record with 14 main tracks and then a second disc of eight more stunning demos. Each was a masterclass in Dodie’s skill – her vocals sounded better than her YouTube covers and earlier singles would’ve suggested possible. Her songwriting was levelled up. But mostly, she proved her power as a composer, once again cashing in on that devotion to take her take, developing her classical skills to arrange parts for a full string section.
It’s been four years since, and Dodie cashed in on that devotion once again by taking even more time. There have been teasers, like the Hot Mess EP, which pointed vividly towards a new and bold direction. While her debut still felt in-keeping with her more sweet, even twee online persona, that EP felt more curated, swaying somewhere between folk to even avant-garde sounds, where the benefit of her self-production and tight circle of collaborators led to a storytelling project that didn’t question itself out of interesting choices.
Now, Not For Lack Of Trying takes all of the above, improves on them and unleashes them. Once again, Dodie’s ear for composition steals the spotlight as there are some moments on this album that can only be described as luscious, like the staggeringly beautiful ‘Different’ where her vocals swell alongside strings until the hair on your arms stands up.
Her lyrics are better, too. Any clichés have been dropped, and it again feels like the benefit of a small circle where Dodie mostly works with friends who are less likely to question what a certain thing means, allowing her to commit to her own codified images and phrases. ‘The End’ is the best example of that, as the heartbreak is sharp and poignant, but told with a whole new language. Or take ‘Darling Angel Baby’ as an example, as Dodie crafts a gorgeous song alongside Greta Isaac, all to serenade their cat – it’s the sort of thing an artist with less certainty in themselves and their fans might axe, but Dodie has trust.
There is so much at play here. Dodie deals in big topics of love, loss, mental health and especially the world-altering experience of disassociation as this record’s colour palette is both muted but utterly cinematic in a unique way that only she seems to pull off. In short, it’s stunning, in both sonics and substance, and it’s a further display of why artists should be allowed time, space and trust from their fans, because they’ll return with something special.
For people who: Wake up in a fog and stay there all day, wondering if everyone feels the world as they do, caught somewhere between being the main character and watching their own life through a hazy lens.
A track to watch out for if you’re heartbroken: ‘The End’ – “I won’t lose another home,” Dodie wails on this devastating track. It’s a slow burn that doesn’t reveal its emotional weight instantly, but instead captures that sickening feeling that sits in your tummy when you know something is over, whether you’ve admitted it or not.
A concluding comment from Dodie’s old YouTube fans: “Where’s the ukulele?”
Release date: October 3rd 2025 | Producer: Dodie and Joe Rubel | Label: Decca
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