The BRIT’s Rising Star of 2022 Holly Humberstone returned last week with her debut album, ‘Paint My Bedroom Black’, a ‘charmingly melodramatic’ expression of youthful zest and the emotional underbelly of early adulthood. After soaring success with her earlier EPs ‘Falling Asleep at the Wheel’ and ‘The Walls Are Way Too Thin’, earning her collaborations with Indie powerhouse Sam Fender and a spot on Gen-Z sensation Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ Tour, all eyes are on Humberstone in anticipation of her next move.
The album opens with the title track ‘Paint My Bedroom Black’, which after Olivia Rodrigo’s punchy punk sound on ‘Guts’ earlier this year, I expected Humberstone to follow a similar genre shift. Contrastingly, Humberstone remains true to her hazy synth-pop sound, pleasingly complementing her confessional lyrical style. She encapsulates the feeling of breaking free from negativity, describing the lyrics as a quest to ‘shut everything out’ and ‘enjoy this feeling of being away from everything’. It is clear that the title track conceptualises the overarching theme of the album, with its stark honesty and intimacy lifting the heavy weight of emotion from Humberstone and all who can relate to her.
The next two tracks, ‘In Your Room’ and ‘Cocoon’ continue to paint the picture of self-discovery with poignantly captivating lyricism reminiscent of powerhouses like Taylor Swift or Phoebe Bridgers. While some impressive lyrical moments in ‘Cocoon’ are lost amidst a relatively mundane pop production, the tracks are enjoyable nonetheless, developing the atmospheric, cosy feel of the album.
A standout moment comes in track 4, ‘Kissing In Swimming Pools’, with stripped back production and ethereal vocals that hauntingly and emotionally transport us into the depths of Humberstone’s mind. Adding colour to her intimate picture of early adulthood, the relatable, honest lyrics sit in the pit of your stomach on listening, with the slow percussion and warm guitar backing combining to immerse the listener in the mellow beats. It feels a shame that this atmosphere isn’t fully revisited until the final track of the album, ‘Room Service’, yet another rich and hypnotic ballad with raw emotion and intimacy.
After some fairly forgettable tracks ‘Ghost Me’ and ‘Superbloodmoon (Featuring D4vd)’, we reach another point of interest in track 7, ‘Antichrist’, a song with an interesting lyrical perspective with Humberstone’s frankness regarding her own flaws within relationships; (‘I made a real mess of this honey/ so you should run for your life’). Rob Milton’s production adds a vibrancy to an otherwise melancholy track, with purposely autotuned background vocals and sharp piano firmly securing the track in an electro-pop genre.
Out of the whole album, however, the standout track for me was ‘Flatlining’. With a combination of conceptual, invigorating production from Milton, Noah Conrad and Jonah Summerfield, the song holds a sparkling energy that some of the previous tracks were lacking. The heavy baseline mirrors the weighty emotions depicted lyrically, again speaking openly about her own pitfalls in a confessional description of a messy failed relationship. The rich and depthful layering of pacy electronic production and rhythmic, almost spoken lyrics in the final moments of the song elevate it into a captivating, impressive spectacle that sticks with the listener beyond the track’s 3 minute duration.
It’s no denying the album is an easy listen, encapsulating all the comfort of a laid-back, autumn sunday with its intimate lyricism and alternative-pop production. However, some tracks felt somewhat static and prescriptive, like ‘Elvis Impersonators’ and ‘Baby Blues’, with the album potentially being a few songs too long. Despite this, We find engrossing and addictive highs in tracks like ‘Kissing In Swimming Pools’, ‘Flatlining’ and ‘Girl’, maintaining our attention despite other forgettable moments. It is easy to hang on to Humberstone’s every word with her exceptional storytelling, showing the messy multitudes of early adulthood in a personal and unapologetic sense. Citing Haim, Damien Rice and Phoebe Bridgers as her inspirations, their influence is clear throughout, with her unique sound placing her outside the classic realms of pop and indie, and into a lane of her own.
Rating: 6.5/10