HOLLY HUMBERSTONE - Cruel World

In a music landscape currently dominated by female pop stars, Holly Humberstone stands out as one of the most compelling voices around. Born in Nottingham, England, in 1999, Holly made her debut in a far from easy moment, back in 2020, with the EP "Falling Asleep At The Wheel", followed by "The Walls Are Way Too Thin", her first release after signing with Interscope and Polydor. In 2022 Humberstone won the Brit Award for "Rising Star". Not bad at all. A year later came her debut album, "Paint My Bedroom Black". In 2024 another EP followed, "Work In Progress", along with some major support slots, including a date on the Eras Tour, and then in 2026 "Cruel World" - her second album - which finally sent her into orbit, followed by an acclaimed double performance across both weekends of Coachella.

With the songs on "Cruel World", Humberstone ventures into more dynamic territory than her previous work, which was defined by a far more intimate mood. "So It Begins…" is the brief orchestral intro that, within a minute, throws itself into the arms of "Make It Better", an ideal stylistic bridge to the past, before "To Love Somebody" brings a genuine gust of renewal: a moderately sunny pop track that has led many to draw comparisons with Taylor Swift. And the closeness isn't limited to a few lines or the odd confessional flourish - no, "Make It Better" carries an unmistakable echo of the indie-folk of "Folklore", while "To Love Somebody" gives the strong sensation of suddenly finding yourself back inside the synth-pop world of "1989". Choosing to open the album of truth this way is no small gamble, but Holly then knows how to pull away from her own reference points to test other directions.

Hers is a pop sound that can be tinged with melancholy (the title track), deeply emotional ("Die Happy"), utterly irresistible ("White Noise", where some hear echoes of Kylie Minogue, though it could just as easily be her own personal take on Sabrina Carpenter, with that flawlessly retro flavour - and the sumptuous "Blue Dream" is no less striking), or built on supremely sticky choruses ("Drunk Dialling"), with the common thread running through it all being an absolute devotion to Eighties-rooted sounds. There's also room for an acoustic moment, courtesy of "Lucy", whose pursuit of essentiality in its own way recalls the Beatles' "Blackbird", plus a few more minimalist passages that bring to mind the most affecting moments from other pop stars of the calibre of Gracie Abrams or Olivia Rodrigo.

Closing the record is the intense delicacy of “Beauty Pageant”, described by Humberstone herself as the most vulnerable song she has written to date. The lyrics explore her own 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 journey that, for a while, led her to see other women purely as competitors. “Beauty Pageant” is therefore a song about the unrealistic expectations girls place on themselves and about trying to navigate a world that isn't built for them. Not yet.
Rounding off the project, two months later Humberstone released "It's A Real Cruel World", an EP featuring four tracks from "Cruel World" reworked into entirely reimagined new versions.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

27/06/2026