Holly Humberstone – Emerging from the Haunted House

Hailing from the market town of Grantham in central England, Holly Humberstone is making waves across the globe with her distinctive brand of songwriting and striking creativity. The 21-year-old released her debut EP ‘Falling Asleep At The Wheel’ in August 2020 and her second EP, ‘Emotional Grim Reaper’, is due later this year. The EP’s first single ‘Haunted House’ is out now. 

 

Molding her own style with a variety of folk, pop, alternative, and indie influences, Humberstone focuses on the art of storytelling to share her own personal experiences. While these experiences are specific to her, she also states that they are very much universal. And for this reason, her work has struck a chord with listeners. It is emotional, relatable and aims to give some sense of clarity on the issues of growing up, moving out, and stepping forward. 

 

Humberstone has created new worlds within her music and a visual identity that provides openness for the listener to step into. Sometimes though, these worlds are very much her own. In her latest single, ‘Haunted House’, she takes a moment to reflect on the family home that she grew up in. The house was formerly used as a servant’s quarters for a nearby castle in the English countryside, yet it’s the spooky, strange, and creepy nature of her childhood home that has influenced her personal identity and has impacted her music greatly. ‘Haunted House’ begins with an emotionally driven piano arrangement and is followed by the introduction of Humberstone’s delicate yet compelling vocals. The track develops into an epic ballad filled with sweeping harmonies and subtle sub-bass to tie it all together.

 

Having gone through some pivotal life changes including finishing school, moving off to university, and going through a breakup, Humberstone used these experiences as inspiration for new work. Not only that, but she used her work as a way to help provide clarity on what she was going through. Her experimentation and creativity have allowed her to grow as an artist and as an individual. This unparalleled vision can be seen through her short film ‘On The Run’ which was released following her debut EP.

Humberstone took full advantage of the opportunity to expand on the storyline from ‘On The Run’ when she was invited on to The Late Late Show with James Corden in February 2021. Performing ‘Falling Asleep At The Wheel’, Humberstone is thrown into the back of a police van for fictional crimes she committed earlier in the tale.

Humberstone’s debut EP ‘Falling Asleep At The Wheel’ is packed full of lush guitar tones, beautifully melancholic piano arrangements, and subtle sweeping electronic components. ‘Deep End’, ‘Drop Dead’ and ‘Livewire’ display a passionate and sensitive side to the record and the more upbeat focused ‘Overkill’ and ‘Vanilla’ provide a wonderful balance. 

Prior to the release of her 2020 EP, Humberstone released a breathtaking cover of Radiohead’s ‘Fake Plastic Trees’. Humberstone strips the track back and presents it in her own remarkable way.

Holly’s career is gaining momentum at some pace. In the space of just one year she has amalgamated over 100 million streams. Add in the fact that she was the runner up in the BBC Sound of 2021, tipped by Amazon Music UK as One To Watch for 2021, listed as one of Apple Music’s Up Next artists, and named as one of Vevo’s Artists To Watch in 2021…you could say that the future looks bright for Holly Humberstone. With four sold-out shows scheduled at London’s OMEARA venue in June this summer, Humberstone is proving incredibly popular on her home soil too. 

On her second EP ‘Emotional Grim Reaper’, set to be released later on this year, storytelling remains an important part of her craft. The singer-songwriter channels her life experiences into fearless bodies of work where her creativity is allowed to flourish. 

‘Haunted House’, the first single from the forthcoming EP is out now.