(5 / 5)
Holly Humberstone first emerged with 2020’s “Falling Asleep At The Wheel”, a debut EP that established her as a songwriter of unusual precision; capable of rendering intimate emotional detail with cinematic clarity. Since then, her trajectory has taken her from bedroom recordings to major stages, including high-profile support slots for artists such as Taylor Swift.
On her second album, “Cruel World”, Holly moves beyond the shadowy introspection of her debut towards something brighter, bolder, and more outward-facing. It remains unmistakably her: intimate, confessional, and emotionally raw, but reflects a clear step forward in both scale and production.
Where her debut album “Paint My Bedroom Black” was steeped in solitude and internal struggle, “Cruel World” opens the windows. The album explores love, distance, nostalgia, and growing up, often using vivid imagery and colour to map emotional states.
Songs like “To Love Somebody” and “Red Chevy” capture that push-and-pull between euphoria and heartbreak, balancing vulnerability with undeniable pop hooks, while retaining the emotional intimacy that has defined her work to date.
Having first encountered much of the new material at the “Cruel World” album launch show in March 2026 at Chalk in Brighton, the record reveals itself as carefully constructed yet immediate in its emotional impact. [See the review and photos from that show in our “Live Zone].
Aptly, it opens with “So It Starts…”, where strings intertwine with synth textures to build anticipation and establish the record’s atmosphere. The brief introduction acts as a prelude, easing into “Make It All Better,” which offers one of the album’s more direct emotional statements. Its simplicity is deceptive; beneath it lies a carefully controlled sense of urgency. Holly’s phrasing and tonal control ensure to maintain a balance between sincerity and composure.
“To Love Somebody” follows, with a sense of emotional clarity, pairing understated vulnerability with a more expansive pop sensibility. Her voice is restrained, textured, and quietly expressive and it anchors the track, allowing its emotional weight to emerge without excess.
The title track, “Cruel World,” serves as an early thematic marker. Built on expansive synths and reverberant piano, it prioritises atmosphere over traditional structure, and. sustains a sense of suspended tension, encapsulating the album’s emotional ambiguity.
“Die Happy” marks a turn towards darker tonal territory with minor-key piano and layered with distorted textures, it leans into a gothic, almost fairy tale-like sensibility.
“White Noise,” embraces a more polished, synth-led sound, yet her vocal delivery remains disarmingly intimate. She has a distinctive ability to inhabit a song without overstating it; where restraint becomes a strength. “Lucy” offers a moment of softness and reassurance. Its warmth is notable, though never unguarded; even in its gentler tone, there is an undercurrent of fragility.
“Red Chevy” is one of the album’s most vivid compositions. Holly’s lyricism here is particularly striking, rooted in imagery that feels both personal and accessible, giving the track both intimacy and emotional resonance. “Drunk Dialling” shifts towards a more unguarded emotional space. Its narrative captures impulsivity and vulnerability, balancing openness with restraint while preserving emotional clarity.
“Peachy” and “Blue Dream” lean into a more introspective soundscape, introducing a lighter tonal palette, though not without complexity. Its brightness is subtly offset by emotional ambiguity, maintaining the album’s characteristic balance between surface ease and underlying tension.
“Beauty Pageant,” the closing track, is one of the album’s most conceptually distinct moments and provides a fitting sense of resolution. Subtle and reflective, it showcases Ms Humberstone’s voice in a way that underscores both its fragility and its control. It is here that the album’s central themes: identity, external pressures, perception, and emotional negotiation, conclude most effectively.
Across its full arc, “Cruel World” marks a clear artistic progression. Where “Paint My Bedroom Black” explored dislocation and uncertainty, this record feels grounded, even as it continues to navigate emotional extremes. Love, identity, and memory recur throughout, treated with increasing composure and clarity.
What ultimately distinguishes the album is the consistency of Holly Humberstone’s voice. Her songwriting remains diaristic yet controlled, specific yet broadly resonant. She demonstrates a growing confidence in allowing atmosphere and detail to carry emotional weight.
There is, ultimately, something rare at the centre of her work. She has soul. It is present in the grain of her voice, in the precision of her writing, and in the emotional honesty that underpins each track. If the opportunity arises to see Holly Humberstone live, it should not be missed.
To witness her new material performed live at Chalk in Brighton back in March 2026 was mesmerising. In a stripped-back, intimate setting, the emotional directness of the songs became even more pronounced, underscoring the strength of her connection with her audience.
Looking ahead, Holly Humberstone’s potential feels considerable, yet it is her authenticity – her emotional precision and unguarded delivery – that remains her greatest asset, alongside a voice of remarkable nuance and character. Whatever follows “Cruel World” will most certainly warrant close attention.
Words & Live Photos by Manja Williams
(1 / 5) ‘Dull Zone’
(2 / 5) ‘OK Zone’
(3 / 5) ‘Decent Zone’
(4 / 5) ‘Super Zone’
(5 / 5) ‘Awesome Zone’
Recent Comments