Deadbeat Girl "Soft" Single Review

"Soft" Album Art / Credit: Ashley Crichton

Magda Kanecka | November 2025

Singer-songwriter Val Olson, known under the stage name Deadbeat Girl, has recently released their brand-new single following their 2023 EP “What Will It Take?” along with several stand-alone singles that followed the release.

“Soft” was co-written with Brooklyn-born riser Chloe Lilac and was released via Noiseclub. The track encapsulates a vulnerable alt-indie take on feeling unseen in a relationship where you don’t feel understood for who you are.

Val Olson says: “I was once in a relationship where my partner at the time made me feel like I was too soft or not masculine enough.

“They felt I was ‘not aggressive enough’ or ‘too emotional’.”

This points to their identity as a non-binary person, and they further describe that they feel “a common experience for masculine-presenting non-men is the expectation to act within the aggressive stereotypes of a cis-man in society.”

The South Floridian singer-songwriter’s voice is incredibly melodic and warm-toned, as if inviting you into the rest of their discography. From the first listen, there is an evident clarity in Val’s voice, which is interlinked with themes of compassion and sensitivity, wrapped up with great musical make-up, and my personal favourite: the guitars within the track.

It is hard to believe that Deadbeat Girl isn’t a bigger artist yet, and they are definitely someone to follow while they are still establishing themselves in the industry, having supported Ari Abdul on tour in 2023.

Deadbeat Girl recently announced on their Instagram that their six-track sophomore EP, “Self-Destructor,” is out on 12 December 2025.

Listen to “Soft” on Spotify here!

Follow Deadbeat Girl on Instagram here!