Kevin Bronson on November 2nd, 2022

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Over three albums as Steady Holiday, singer-songwriter Dre Babinski has woven sophisticated dream-pop that tackles heavyweight questions in a featherweight voice. Mostly, her answers have been that there are no easy answers, but damned if 2021’s “Take the Corners Gently” wasn’t a self-help tome disguised as indie-pop. The single “Living Life” by itself a beacon of light in the dark of the pandemic.

Speaking of gently, Babinski is letting someone down easy on “Can’t Find a Way,” the single that introduces the fourth Steady Holiday album, “Newfound Oxygen,” out Feb. 17. “I’ve been trying to shed the comforts in my life that don’t actually nourish me,” Babinski says of the plaintive ballad. “Things like vices, narratives, people. There are inevitable growing pains in that process though, and sometimes a sense of loss. ‘Can’t Find A Way’ is about appreciating the functions that they once served, but ultimately letting go.”

Frequent Steady Holiday collaborator Isaac Ravishankara (“Tangerine,” “Sunny in the Making” and the aforementioned “Living Life,” among others) directs the video for “Can’t Find a Way.”

“I wanted to make a video that was far less literal than the song itself, but externalized the same emotional core — that the world as I know it is suddenly disoriented,” Babinski says. “We brought to life the scene from the single’s artwork with fishing wire, blowdryers and a platform that shifted to a 45-degree angle that the camera and table/chair was mounted to. I had to hold on for dear life.”

Holding on is a central theme on the album, which was made with Ari Balouzian (Gabriels, Midnight Sister) in the producer’s garage in Burbank, with the finishing touches applied at the studio of producer Gus Seyffert, who worked on the first two Steady Holiday albums. Azniv Korkejian (aka Bedouine) and Alana Da Fonseca contribute vocals.

“‘Newfound Oxygen’ is an album about balance,” Babinski says. “About scrambling to find it, realizing it changes, then scrambling to find it again. For me, this process is equal parts hilarious and devastating. And usually kind of a mess. Because I’ve realized there is no silver bullet, no single answer to what works today or what will work tomorrow. Balance has to be monitored and maintained.

“The last few years have thrown everyone off balance, myself included. I’ve had to confront some pretty bad habits, and figure out who I am without them. This album is about what I’ve encountered along the way. All of the growing pains, heartbreak and happy accidents that sit shotgun on any worthwhile adventure. Surely there is friction and disappointment, but there are plenty of wins, too. That’s how it goes.”

||| Watch: The video for “Can’t Find a Way”

||| Live: Steady Holiday performs on Nov. 12 at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater (tickets).

||| Previously: “Sunny in the Making,” “Love Me 2,” live at the Ford, “Take the Corners Gently,” “Love Me When I Go to Sleep,” “Tangerine,” “Living Life,” Quarantunes, “Mothers,” “Who’s Gonna Stop Us,” “Nobody’s Watching,” “Terror,” “Open Water” / interview / Coachella, “Your Version of Me”