Hold on by Tahani: Review

by admin July 8, 2025

July 8, 2025

Tahani’s newest single, “Hold On,” is a soul-baring alt-rock ballad that wraps pain, hope, and resilience into one hauntingly elegant package. The track gets transparent and sonorous right off the bat. The song opens with tender, thawing piano chords that feel like they’re melting slowly into your bones, followed by Tahani’s deep, rich vocals that deliver every word with deliberate grace. Her voice is an instrument that even in her lower ranges, it flows and glides along, over the soft beats before distorted guitars crash in, giving the track its emotional bite and alternative edge. It’s this contrast—delicate versus powerful—that makes “Hold On” feel not only honest but lived-in.

Written and recorded in her home studio in Coleford, England, “Hold On” is actually a tribute and a survival anthem. Tahani, an LGBTQ+ artist and former midwife who turned to music after a traumatic life, made this song in memory of a childhood friend lost to suicide, and as a lifeline to her younger self who once believed she was “too much” for the world. It talks about mental health and grief and leans in, speaking with unflinching candor about the burden of undiagnosed neurodivergence, internalised shame, and emotional exhaustion. Yet, even in its bleakest lyrics, the message is defiantly hopeful.

There’s something deeply moving in the imperfections of the vocal takes, left intentionally untouched to preserve their truth. The pain is audible, but so is the strength. “Hold On” reaches for connection and thaws with the vulnerability of early Evanescence and Røry, with cinematic layers and a sincerity often missing from mainstream releases. Listen to “Hold on” on Spotify.