Holly Humberstone ‘Cruel World’: Incisive, Unforgettable Songwriting
Holly Humberstone releases her second album ‘Cruel World’ tomorrow. Image credit: Silken Weinberg
‘Cruel World’ is heavy with desire and heady with romantic delight. It’s for the crushing, the crushed, and the undecided.’
After Holly Humberstone took a brief pause from the music industry, she found herself rooting through old belongings; rediscovering trinkets, memories and childhood nostalgia in contrast with a new adult life in London. By 25, the solo artist had headlined tours in Europe and the US, played huge shows in Australia supporting Sam Fender, opened for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium, been nominated for an Ivor Novello for debut EP, ‘Falling Asleep At The Wheel’, and won a BRIT Rising Star Award.
Humberstone’s prior catalogue is wracked with anxiety, darkness, and catastrophic storytelling. Back with her second record, ‘Cruel World’ sees her sharpen the pen, this time on the topics of growing up and long-distance relationships. Produced with long-time collaborator Rob Milton, the impression is brighter, but not rose-tinted. ‘Loving someone that much is always going to hurt a little. This is the dichotomy of pain and pleasure. Love is so painful at its core and this is the throughline of my record’ Humberstone summarises.
Dipped in the influence of dark fantasy, with an aesthetic hand from the album’s gorgeously gothic imagery led by Silken Weinberg, ‘Cruel World’ manages to balance acute self-awareness with romanticised vignettes of young adult life.
Released via Polydor Music tomorrow (10th April), read our full review below.
Holly Humberstone, ‘Cruel World’ album cover art. Image credit: Silken Weinberg
The album opens with finely plucked strings – an overture of sorts. Consider it the lifting of the red velvet curtain, the warming up of the orchestra, a formal invitation to step into the mysticism of Holly Humberstone’s ‘Cruel World’, born from musical theatre, ballet, and old fairytale. In this world, Humberstone has found a stronger voice, sonically and lyrically. She flits between breathy melodies, deep whispers, and grainy belts. ‘Kiss me like you f****ing mean it’ she growls in ‘Red Chevy’, far from the defeatist ‘I ruin everything’ sentiment of previous releases.
First single from the album, ‘Die Happy’, was a tough act to follow – with TOPNOTE declaring it had the potential to herald the ‘start of an era that brings the singer to the top of her game, alongside the very best in British music’. It was placed fourth in our top songs of 2025 – but can the album it calls home follow in its footsteps? Without caveat… yes. ‘Die Happy’ remains among the record’s best, but it’s nestled amongst some competitive neighbours on the tracklist.
“‘Cruel World’ is ripe with choruses you’re singing before their last repetition, from the simplicity of ‘Drunk Dialling’ to the tactile fantasies of ‘Blue Dream’. But it’s ‘White Noise’ that hooks the most, the epitome of the clash between an unrelenting heartbreak and an unfulfilling night out, filled with fluttering riffs and crying-on-the-dancefloor beats.”
Following singles ‘To Love Somebody’ and title track, ‘Cruel World’, veered further towards total pop; ditching Humberstone’s prior full-time commitment to self-deprecation for an overly optimistic cowbell. But it’s ‘White Noise’ that hooks the most, the epitome of the clash between an unrelenting heartbreak and an unfulfilling night out, filled with fluttering riffs and crying-on-the-dancefloor beats. ‘I love pop music with hints of the gothic. I think you can hear how much fun it was to make’ Humberstone said of the track.
Across the album, Humberstone labels herself ‘a baby’, a ‘bitch’, and everything in between. The constant reframing of her own identity, at times helpless and insecure, others empowered and driven, is apt for a record exploring the cross-section of a woman in her mid-twenties. ‘Peachy’ uncovers the fear of committing to a relationship whilst your own personality remains under construction; a soft ballad that lets the emotion in Humberstone’s voice play the leading role.
‘Cruel World’ is ripe with choruses you’re singing before their last repetition, from the simplicity of ‘Drunk Dialling’ to the tactile fantasies of ‘Blue Dream’ – ‘a song about romanticising the summer and love being psychedelic’. Pastel pops of orange and blue collide with ‘sweat-beads and sunscreen’, and an expertly captured, all-encompassing urgency. While many industry peers struggle through lyrics about being ghosted and led-on and release entire records detailing public embarrassment and insidious affairs, it’s uplifting not only to hear a woman in pop music proud and content in a romantic relationship, but also to claim her self-worth within and outside it.
“At times, the high notes are voice-crackingly, glass-shatteringly beautiful; straining to the edge of palatability. This seems the intention in ‘Beauty Pageant’, where Humberstone grapples with the concept of pretty as currency. Her voice resembles a ballet dancer’s pointe shoes – an expression of femininity so contorted and extreme it’s almost uncomfortable to experience up close.”
What makes this album so deeply refreshing is its total relatability. The concepts are universal, but the details remain rooted in British reference. ‘You’re not in the Midlands anymore’ Humberstone pines in ‘Beauty Pageant’, before wishing for her Dorothy-style escape home.
That’s true, with the exception of ‘Red Chevy’, though Humberstone admits it’s ‘actually about an old blue Ford. I’ve never actually driven in a red Chevy’. With hints of Tumblr-era Bleachers and The 1975, it whirs up the Americana sound echoed in its title, through to a closing voice note that could be clipped from an 80s coming-of-age film. Dry humour is scattered across the twenty-six-year-old’s lyrics: ‘I’m gonna shake my non-existent ass’ / ‘You wear his T-shirt, you hate his guts’. Humberstone encourages her peers to laugh at their more unhinged moments too.
At times, the high notes are voice-crackingly, glass-shatteringly beautiful; straining to the edge of palatability. This seems the intention in ‘Beauty Pageant’, where Humberstone grapples with the concept of pretty as currency. Her voice resembles a ballet dancer’s pointe shoes – an expression of femininity so contorted and extreme it’s almost uncomfortable to experience up close, mirroring ‘the fragility of your own image when it's based upon the opinions of others.’
‘Cruel World’ begins and ends with ‘So It Starts’. Humberstone has declared it herself – this summer-ready album is just the horizon for an inevitable household name.
Holly Humberstone’s new album reviewed on TOPNOTE. Image credit: Silken Weinberg