Holly Humberstone Brings Emotional Maturity and Personal Experience on Cruel World
Almost three years after the release of Paint My Bedroom Black, British singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone has returned with her third studio album, Cruel World.
Across 12 tracks, the 26-year-old delivers a mix of introspection, loneliness, and hope. The album feels lighter and more uplifting than her previous work, as though Humberstone has stepped out of the darkness that once defined her sound. In several interviews, she has shared that the album was written during a transitional period, as she and her siblings moved out of their family home and began grappling with fading childhood memories and formative experiences.
On Cruel World, the songwriting is sharp and vividly descriptive, painting clear pictures of where Humberstone was – both physically and emotionally – when writing each song. Listeners are pulled into stories of heartbreak, longing, and nostalgia, as she comes face to face with reality.
So It Starts… acts as a quick breath in before diving in – a short introduction that seamlessly leads into the second track. Make It All Better arrives at just the right pace, gradually pulling listeners in and building toward an electronic crescendo. Here, Humberstone dreams of growing old with a loved one, imagining “matching tracksuits” and a shared future.
Released earlier this year, To Love Somebody offers hope that “it all works out, it always does”. The undeniably catchy track captures the vulnerability of feeling deeply, layered over a euphoric pop melody. Humberstone reflects that it’s better to have loved and lost – “at least you got to love somebody”. The title track, Cruel World, follows with the story of a long-distance love and the quiet loneliness that comes with missing someone who once felt constant.
Die Happy builds slowly, its bassline taking centre stage. With a slightly gothic edge, the song explores the intensity of giving yourself fully to someone without hesitation. “And if we crash and kiss the dash, baby, tragically / To die with you is to, to die happy”, she sings with unwavering devotion.
The album’s first half closes on a more upbeat note with White Noise, despite its underlying sadness. Humberstone captures the loneliness of growing apart from someone, with lyrics like “So play a sad song, DJ, I just wanna sway tonight” drawing a picture of wanting to get out of your head for the night and forget these feelings.
Lucy opens the second half at a more grounded pace. An ode to her sister, the song reflects on identity, femininity, and the struggle to find one’s place in the world. Offering reassurance, she sings “Lucy, don’t you know? Behind every rain cloud, there is a promise that flowers will grow”. While directed outward, the message feels just as much like something Humberstone is beginning to accept for herself.
Red Chevy continues with a similar sonic palette but shifts toward themes of lust and empowerment, bringing a more confident, sensual energy. Humberstone leans into this tone with the striking line, “Kiss me like you fuckin’ mean it”.
Drunk Dialling feels hazier and more subdued, detailing an unrequited infatuation laced with desperation. “I thought about drivin’ to your house, ‘cause I don’t know what else to do”, she admits, capturing a moment of emotional vulnerability. Peachy, a slow piano ballad, delivers powerful one-liners like “God knows I’m 24, I’m still a baby”, exploring the weight of emotional responsibility.
Blue Dream carries an open-ended, dreamy quality, familiar in the indie-pop space, before the album closes with the slow-burning Beauty Pageant. Featuring delicate piano and soft strings, the track reflects on the pressures of womanhood and performance. Lines like “So I dance till I drop / Pull on my strings and wind me up / I’ll be your favourite, till I’m not” highlight the exhausting cycle of expectation. Humberstone also longs for home, singing, “You’re not in the Midlands anymore / I click my heels and wish for home”.
Easily Humberstone’s strongest release to date, Cruel World blends her signature indie-pop sound with new layers of depth and maturity. It’s clear that the past few years have shaped her perspective, allowing her to look both inward and outward with greater clarity. Across these 12 tracks, she embraces the messiness of emotion with honesty and nuance.
The emotional intelligence in Humberstone’s songwriting is undeniable on Cruel World, and it feels like a defining moment in her career. As she steps onto bigger stages – beginning with Coachella and continuing on a North American tour – this album positions her not just as a rising voice in indie pop, but as an artist fully coming into her own.
