Holly Humberstone has been a slow burn climber in British pop music over the last five years. Steadily building a small, dedicated fanbase who have followed the 26-year-old English singer-songwriter from her 2021 Brit Award for Rising Star through to open for international star Taylor Swift at a Wembley Stadium Eras Tour show. Humberstone has demonstrated she is a hardworking, skilled musician who has earned the respect of performers from Olivia Rodrigo to Sam Fender. This April, Humberstone released her second studio album Cruel World which displays her signature intimate, storytelling-driven songwriting with a deeper exploration of how upbeat tempos can deliver her lyrics.
The 38-minute-long album begins with a 45 second orchestral interlude acting as an introduction to Humberstone’s first full-length track ‘Make It All Better.’ ‘Make It All Better’ is passionate love song which explores the desire to be present to support your romantic partner through difficult times, the strings section of the opening number is replaced by soft-electronic and synth beats which speed up the tempo on the second verse. The determination to believe in the hope and possibility of romantic love continues in the album’s second pre-release single ‘To Love Somebody’ which has already been established as a dear fan favourite. On the shouty, energetic pre-chorus, Humberstone sings ‘it all breaks down it always does/ it all works out, it always does’, embracing inevitable heartbreak for the chance to make those mistakes with the person she loves.
Humberstone shows a more developed flirtatious and playful side to her songwriting amongst her more traditional rumination on romantic disappointments. On the title track ‘Cruel World’, the singer admits she needs to see her long-distance lover, she needs his ‘kisses on a feedback loop’, Humberstone seeming to have fun exploring a different aspect to her storytelling. At times, Humberstone’s desire for relatability amongst her listeners means her simple, straightforward lyrics are too vague to create a story beyond an image. On ‘Red Chevy’, beyond the titular reference to the car, the promise of fast food and video games and needing him in your bed leaves little impression once the song is over, a sentiment better expressed on tracks by other artists like ‘Sports Car’ by Tate McRae.
Humberstone returns to her melancholic roots in the last quarter of the album with some of this record’s strongest material. ‘Peachy’ is a slow piano ballad which reflects on what the future will bring, wrestling the ideas of self-protection and vulnerability in a nuanced way. The chorus which builds from low, whispery vocals to high, breathy vocals distils the emotionally raw fear of trusting a partner in moving tones. The album’s triumph is its closing track ‘Beauty Pageant’ which was released as its fourth single on the day of the album’s release. Using vintage, chorus girl imagery in its accompanying music video, Humberstone deconstructs her fame and blurring of her personal and public identities. ‘Twenty five, still alive/ you’ll find me chronically online’ is a line certain to be screamed in concert venues across the country. On this song, Humberstone connects her running thread together: it is a cruel world where you are not only separated from your lover but also from the self you were before.
Cruel World appears to be a transitional project, an album where Humberstone is exploring and experimenting with new, lighter points of view and sonic influences. The artist demonstrates her ability to create clean, catchy choruses and clear, vivid images even without an obvious stand-out track although ‘To Love Somebody’ and ‘Beauty Pageant’ come close. Humberstone is among the latest crop of emerging British female talent from Maisie Peters, Alessi Rose and Griff who have bright futures ahead of them. If Humberstone wants to ‘die happy’ with this album, she has succeeded.
8/10
