In a musical context like the current one, dominated by female pop stars, Holly Humberstone is standing out as one of the highest quality proposals. English from Nottingham, born in 1999, Holly made her debut in a far from simple moment, in 2020, with the EP “Falling Asleep At The Wheel”, followed by “The Walls Are Way Too Thin”, the first work released after signing the contracts with Interscope and Polydor. In 2022 Humberstone wins the Brit Award in the “Rising Star” category. Not bad. A year later the first album “Paint My Bedroom Black” arrives. In 2024 another EP, “Work In Progress”, then some important openings, including a date on the Eras Tour, and in 2026 “Cruel World” – her second album – which definitively launches her into orbit, followed by the acclaimed double performance over the two weekends of the Coachella Festival.
With the songs of “Cruel World” Humberstone enters more lively atmospheres compared to previous works, characterized by a mood definitely more intimate. “So It Begins…” is the short orchestral introduction that within a minute is thrown into the arms of “Make It Better”, an ideal stylistic bridge with the past, before “To Love Somebody” brings a breath of real renewal: a moderately sunny pop song that has made many compare her to Taylor Swift. And the proximity is not limited to a few verses or some confessional impulse, no, both in “Make It Better” the indie-folk echo of “Folkore” is evident, and in “To Love Somebody” the sensation of suddenly finding oneself inside the synth-pop that animated “1989” is strong. Choosing to start the album of truth like this is no small challenge, but then Holly knows how to detach herself from her own references to test other directions.
His is a pop that can now be tinged with melancholy (la title track), now profoundly emotional (“Die Happy”), now super-enthralling (“White Noise”, some hear Kylie Minogue, but it could easily be a personal reinterpretation of Sabrina Carpenter, with that impeccably retro taste, but the sumptuous “Blue Dream” is no exception), now built on very sticky refrains (“Drunk Dialling”) with the lowest common denominator traceable in the absolute devotion towards the sounds of the Eighties. There is also the acoustic moment, ensured by the presence of “Lucy”, with that search for essentiality which in its own way refers to the Beatles of “Blackbird”, and some more minimalist moments, which bring us back to the most exciting moments signed by other pop stars of the caliber of Gracie Abrams or Olivia Rodrigo.
The games close with the intense delicacy of “Beauty Pageant”, defined by Humberstone herself as her most vulnerable song written so far. The lyrics explore her attitude towards women after growing up with three sisters, attending an all-girls school and entering the music industry at a very young age. A path that led her for a period to see other women only as competitors. “Beauty Pageant” is therefore a song about the unrealistic expectations girls set for themselves and trying to navigate this world that isn't built for them. Not yet.
To complete the project, two months later Humberstone released “It's A Real Cruel World”, an EP containing four tracks from “Cruel World” proposed in new, completely reimagined versions.
06/27/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
