Hello Reader,
Hopefully all is well.
I first heard of Holly Humberstone while listening to the song, “Diving” off of Bombay Motorcycle Club’s new album My Big Day for my review and I was floored away. Humberstone’s vocals not only paired brilliantly with Jack Steadman’s, but on their own her vocals were truly outstanding. The third video in the review is the song, “Diving”: https://scummywatertower.com/album-reviews/bombay-bicycle-club-my-big-day-2023-album-review/
Like contemporaries Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo and Maisie Peters, Holly Humberstone was influenced by Millennial aged Singers and Songwriters, Lorde, and Taylor Swift. Luckily there’s room for all to not only exist but also succeed and thrive, as each immensely talented artist mentioned has millions of fans. If any of those names are unfamiliar to you, perhaps it’s because they’ve all had spectacular rises in a similar relatively short amount of time. Please look into their music.
Humberstone’s debut collection of music was an EP titled; Falling Asleep At The Wheel and it was released in 2020. The following year after signing to Polydor Records and Interscope Records, Humberstone released a second EP of new material titled, The Walls Are Way Too Thin and it found universal acclaim. Nearly a month after the EP’s release, in December of 2021, Humberstone was announced as the winner of the (2022) Rising Star Award given at the BRIT Awards. Less than two years later, on October 13th, 2023, Holly Humberstone’s debut album, featuring 13 songs, Paint My Bedroom Black was released via Polydor Records.
Humberstone says, “I have had such a fun, crazy, challenging few years. I wanted to put absolutely all of that into this album. An album is a much different headspace for me, but it is filled with snapshots of where I’ve been and where I’m at. My favourite artists create work that magics up an entirely new universe. That’s what I want to do with my album and live shows.”
Full disclosure: We were not compensated for our thoughts; all thoughts are entirely my own.
Title song, and lovely lyric video “Paint My Bedroom Black”:
(All credits and rights to Holly Humberstone)
The driving in the English countryside, lyric video to “Cocoon”:
(All credits and rights to Holly Humberstone)
Pairing vocals with d4vd on “Superbloodmoon feat. d4vd”:
(All credits and rights to Holly Humberstone and d4vd)
A song about touring, “Room Service”:
(All credits and rights to Holly Humberstone)
Overall, this collection of songs seems cathartic for Humberstone. The songs were candid and expressive. “My lyrics always come first, and my songwriting only gets better with new connections. I want to put something out into the world that they can feel just as deeply.” I feel listeners of Paint My Bedroom Black, will experience that. Humberstone’s songwriting continues to evolve and improve. On top of the songwriting, the music production is more minimal sounding. It adds not subtracts. Half of the songs have guitar and piano and there’s a considerable amount of programming with sequencing, sampling and synth. One song even has strings in it. Humberstone’s vocals stand out. Collaborator Rob Milton’s multi-talented music instrumentation and production experience was invaluable to the album’s quality.
The album opener and title song, “Paint My Bedroom Black” kicks off the album. It features a captivating refrain and catchy production beat. The song has themes of escape but also evolving to happiness as she moves on. The next song, “Into Your Room,” shows a lot of frustration and reflection. Going from “Paint My Bedroom Black” to “Into Your Room” is a good pairing as the two complement each other and establishes theme of love.
“Cocoon,” has Humberstone at perhaps her most vulnerable on the album. “Kissing in Swimming Pools,” – lovely violin and viola. “Ghost Me,” guitars stand out. Then the beat. “Superbloodmoon feat. dv4d,” David Anthony Burke joins in on the vocals.
“Antichrist” is heavy on reflection after a breakup, there’s a large amount of guilt and wanting to escape. “Lauren,” is about a friend that Humberstone hasn’t good to and thus Holly feels guilty. So many unread texts!
“Baby Blue,” is the shortest song on Paint My Bedroom Black. The vocal effect is memorable. It is the only song without instrumentation.
“Flatlining,” trance-like beat over layered Humberstone vocals. The vocal delivery pace changes and it creates a great effect. The lyrics are adamant about a relationship.
“Elvis Impersonators,” features a solid production beat and guitar over lyrics about longing. Rob Milton adds background vocals that are delivered more softly than Humberstone, but Rob’s vocal tone complements Humberstone. “Girl,” is a song to the boyfriend as she’s missing him. The song’s melody allows Humberstone’s lyrics to resonate more.
“Room Service” is a song to those special in her life. Lyrically it is a song about Humberstone’s touring experience as she’s missing home including friends and family. Milton background vox. Seems like a good way to close the album.
Paint My Bedroom Black gets 4 of 5 Scum Drops from me. It’s a very good album. Holly’s vocals stand out and her songwriting shows continued improvement. Rob Milton and all the other contributors create melodies that fill out the sound. Sonically it is top notch. Worth listening to on any format and then adding to your collection.
Paint My Bedroom Black Tracklist [song time]:
- Paint My Bedroom Black [3:49]
- Into Your Room [3:29]
- Cocoon [3:06]
- Kissing in Swimming Pools [4:47]
- Ghost Me [3:37]
- Superbloodmoon feat. dv4d [2:31]
- Antichrist [3:20]
- Lauren [2:58]
- Baby Blue [1:18]
- Flatlining [3:02]
- Elvis Impersonators [2:52]
- Girl [3:22]
- Room Service [3:48]
Total run time: 41:57
Humberstone’s YouTube channel has some fantastically filmed/shot lyric videos. A good place to start, her site. You can see her 2024 tour, get merch & music, find the socials here:
https://www.hollyhumberstone.com/
Thanks for reading and supporting good music.
Until the next review,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
