dodie - Not for Lack of Trying

2017, hair tutorials, and butter yellow have one thing in common – dodie. Back when covers posted on the internet made people famous, she was on the rise for her melancholy lyrics and flirty instrumentals. From hits like “In the Middle” to “Party Tattoos,” dodie captured the cautious but playful energy of an anxiety-ridden generation determined to try new things. Her first few releases were published as demos on her YouTube channel, doddleoddle, where she often posted original songs, covers, and even hair tutorials. It was a place where she could be vulnerable and fans could feel connected. As she often recorded these videos in her bedroom, her music reflected its coziness and sincerity. “Would You Be So Kind,” a demo first released in 2017, is a plea to dodie’s crush: “Oh, would you be so kind / As to fall in love with me?” Its candid and playful lyrics have you hoping and pleading with her as all her other songs do. They’re pent-up dreams wrapped in blankets of warmth you only find in your bedroom walls.

not for lack of trying, released in October 2025, attempted to fall right back into the comfortable home dodie has made for her music — up on her shelf next to a picture of her cat and an old water glass. Immediately, it’s clear she ditched the keyboard and clarinet and headed straight for the more mature stringed instruments akin to the new world she's entering as a “big brave girl, 29 now.” This marks an important change for dodie, as it is a shift away from the limited means of her own label, doddleoddle, and into the bigger, more capable Decca Records. A transition like this in the context of her work as an impassioned young adult is representative of her fears of aging and the liminal space of stardom, both key themes throughout the 12 tracks. This is all to say that this was the right move for dodie’s career; what isn’t clear is whether or not it was the right one for her music. 

One might say that in this album she got ahead of herself and strayed just far enough away from her successful formula — a little trigger-happy in the production studio. Others may say that this is her formula and she’s finally got all the toys to make it happen. Regardless of the production, dodie’s not for lack of trying takes a listener more than a few runthroughs to understand what makes it good. Her skill as an artist has always been her ability to take concepts that feel too complicated to explain and make a little song (often under 3 minutes) about that very feeling. In not for lack of trying she hides away too many of her lyrics in inaudible background vocals so a first time listener is subjected to a confused mess of emotional statements. 

Upon first play through, many of the songs make you forget you’re listening to anything at all. They’re sporadically jarring with loud bursts of energy from the chorus that die out before you can start to enjoy them. The crescendoing strings and backup vocals do little to engage the listener and instead end up spooking them. It falls on the edge of relaxing lo-fi and alternative indie to the point where it’s an unpleasant mush of the two, leaving us lost in a sad zone of nonsense.

The banality of not for lack of trying is unfortunate since dodie’s music usually lulls you into feeling a forlorn sense of comfort through her simple melodies and clever lyrics. Here, this is attempted aggressively and without patient precision. Track 3, “Darling, Angel, Baby”, is about her cat, “You’re such a cool cat and we never disagree / And if you need it babe I’ll give you space,” but it mirrors the ever-confusing give and take in romantic relationships, exactly what dodie is so good at doing. Where she falls short in “Darling, Angel, Baby” and in the rest of the album, is in supporting these smart, seemingly mundane connections with smart, supple instrumentals. We are left on the edge of our seats, waiting for the acoustic guitar to fall away, leaving dodie bare and alone like we are so used to her being. It’s cold, but sometimes an artist’s best work is found in their most emotionally stripped moments. 

To say that not for lack of trying is a positive step forward for dodie’s career isn’t wrong; it is, however, to be met with discussion and careful deliberation. As a listener, it feels like she is buried under the weight of too many choices and the looming decade of turning 30 is adding to it. Perhaps that’s why she expresses so much pride for this album: it mimics her feelings so well. But to the rest of us, it feels nondescript, overproduced, and hard to relate to. Hopefully she finds the microphone again and makes sure to turn it up to the max.