There is something so enjoyable about an artist that is still able to make you feel all the feels about the most mundane things. The kind whose lyrics sound like you’re listening to a friend, to a fellow young woman that sees you and knows exactly what type of thoughts are running through your head.
Twenty-six year-old Holly Humberstone has been someone that, in an indirect (and potentially parasocial) capacity, has grown up alongside me, and her vulnerability and wit in Cruel World has only reinforced my belief that we are simultaneously going through some of the same things, having the same realizations, and have decided to have an optimistic—even if also a little nihilistic– outlook towards life.
Even from the album’s 45-second introduction, there is evident growth; the decision to include “So It Starts…” a piece that encapsulates the start of a new phase for Holly, already points to a more defined approach, to a record that works as a full concept as opposed to just a compilation of (great) songs. Produced by Rob Milton, who’s responsible for two of my favorite songs ever (hard life’s “skeletons” and “Sangría” featuring Arlo Parks), and most of Holly’s discography, I was bound to love this album. But nevertheless, there were still so many details that made my heart flutter, and sounds that immediately made me check if maybe The 1975’s George Daniel had had a hand in the production. (Fun fact: Milton does indeed have a songwriting credit on “When We Are Together” so there’s still some sort of connection there).
The segue from this short instrumental to the actual opening track also delivers so much more than I was expecting. It’s the same arrangement again but with a poppier foundation, showcasing straightaway the mix of retro influences and neo-goth visuals Holly has adopted, with modern synthesizers and casually earnest lyrics (before eventually turning into a full-on Fred again.. track). “Make It Better” feels a lot more personal than it might seem at first, particularly the idea of hoping to make someone else’s life better somehow, instead of only expecting them to do that for us. I like to think that this sentiment comes from finally being in a healthy relationship, one where security is guaranteed and the only thing left to do is try to make the rest of our lives even better—another thing that I believe both me and Holly have gotten to experience for the first time in recent years (thank God).
“Make It Better” is also where we hear the first of many lyrics referencing cinema: “we’ll let everybody stare, I don’t care, they’re just extras in our scene,” a detail that is not necessarily groundbreaking, but after more movie imagery kept popping up through the entire project, I couldn’t help but love the intentionality of it.
“To Love Somebody,” the album’s lead single, naturally remains one of the strongest moments, and is a front-runner for one of my most listened songs of the year already. The almost detached hopefulness I mentioned at the beginning is presently vibrant here too, exploring the idea of everything, the beautiful and the ugly, actually being a privilege of experiencing human life. The movie reference on this one: “In the movie of your life, you’re the first to die, and the critics called it trash.”
The title track brings a fun oxymoronic idea, with a name that makes you think it’ll be about the horrors, when it’s actually about how Humberstone’s found someone that makes her world so much better. Her voice in this song even sounds different, warmer and a little stronger than usual. The retro sounds and melody remind me of Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, and Dayglow’s ever joyful production, something I can also hear a bit of in “White Noise,” although that one feels more like a reimagined version of “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande (or the kind of ABBA song that has a summery tune over a colder topic, embodying the moments where you might want to dance the pain away). Cruel World brings a new style for her that I’m happy she chose to carry the overall concept of the project, and I’m really hoping she will explore it more!
Almost as a sequel to the previous song, “Die Happy” complements “Cruel World” lyrically, singing about how living and dying will have been worth it as long as she stayed with this person till the end. It also ties nicely with the album’s visuals with its references to Dracula, ghosts, and the slow, stately energy around it. Movie reference: “We’re picking out thе plot holes in a movie.”
The second half of the album gets a little sadder and a little angstier. “Lucy,” an acoustic lullaby that Holly herself described as “a hug in a song:” “It’s for any young girl who doesn’t really know where they fit in in a world that isn’t really shaped for us. I don’t think that feeling ever goes away, it’s just something that you learn to make peace with,” something that also gets revisited in the album’s closing. “Red Chevy” takes us back to the Paint My Bedroom Black era, to angsty lyrics and afflicted vocals, also bringing The 1975 to mind again with its trumpets over synthesizers. Similar to “White Noise,” “Blue Dream” is a flawless pop song, with an intoxicating pre-chorus melody that I can only describe as “makes you levitate like that one Spongebob meme.”
“Drunk Dialing,” potentially my favorite song off the album, is a clever and silly track with exactly the right amount of un-seriousness and earnestness. Bringing in some folky sounds into the mix, I feel like this could’ve been a Del Water Gap song (a huge compliment from Del Water Gap’s own Club Chalamet, me). “Drunk Dialing” also gives us one of my favorite lyrics to date: “I’m gonna shake my nonexistent ass to a shitty song.” Flat booty representation matters too.
“Peachy” makes a 180°, as the mandatory piano ballad in the record. It is absolutely heartbreaking, as we hear her beg her lover to not take her too seriously. As Holly sings “God knows, I’m twenty-four, I’m still a baby,” we’re reminded that we’re all just living for the first time, and we have no idea what the hell we’re doing no matter what age we are. Another movie image: “you play it out like a movie, and I’m best supporting actress”.
After a beautifully packaged journey, Cruel World closes with the heartfelt and sincere “Beauty Pageant”. In the style Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” Holly sings about the pressure of not just being in the entertainment industry, but of simply being a woman in the world; “The stage is yours, don’t forget to have a ball. One day, I’ll make you love me.” Opening up about moments of doubt and the inevitability of needing people to love you to succeed, it’s an incredibly vulnerable track in an already truly vulnerable record.
Holly Humberstone, seems to me, to be in the sweet spot between already having her breakthrough and staying at a level where the people around you are expecting more. That, on top of all the expectations that come with simply existing as a female person, and she has decided to share that part of her life with us through her music.
In the last chorus, she sings: “This is what you wanted, after all.” it could be that she’s repeating something that was said to her, or just her hyping herself up to keep going, but either way, it’s a much too familiar feeling when coming-of-age. The apprehensions displayed in Cruel World are not so much about relationships, boys, or being loved, but more about how all of those things affect the way you move through life. As women, and especially as girls in our twenties, there are so many things against us and so many others that go unsaid about growing up, which makes me appreciate Holly’s willingness to make the shiny things be seen for what they are, and acknowledging that, even though none of us might not have the answer, at least we’re not going through it alone.
Holly Humberstone’s sophomore album Cruel World is out now.
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