More about: holly humberstone

Pre-2020, Holly Humberstone was a name few were familiar with. But, just 18 months later and with the release of her second EP The Walls Are Way Too Thin, the 21 year-old alt-pop star is the name on everyone’s lips. 

To mark the release of the synth-streaked and unfiltered EP, Gigwise caught up with Humberstone and found her still reeling from the night before: “I had my Shepherds Bush Empire show last night”, she explains. “I've been looking forward to that for months and months. It’s been in my calendar for ages, so I’ve really been hyping myself up to it, and I'm relieved to have finally done it. But, I’m so, so sad that it’s over now”, the excited singer reveals. 

Just like a perfectly baked cake, Holly Humberstone was on the rise throughout 2020 and, consequently, throughout the pandemic. So, while her success snowballed, the lockdown restrictions prevented her from playing to the smaller crowds with which most newly established artists become familiar. This meant the young singer from Grantham was immediately thrown onto some of the most coveted stages in the UK and the USA, and the transition from small-town girl to international pop star has been a tough one to grapple with. “I literally still feel like a 12 year-old girl. I don’t feel like I’m supposed to have adult commitments”, she only half-jokingly admits, “I've had a really hard time accepting the fact that I'm growing up. And, I think leaving my family home has felt like leaving my childhood behind. I guess it's necessary to move on and evolve. I just have a really hard time picturing my life without the home that shaped me.”

The home she refers to is the place that inspired the EP’s opening track, ‘Haunted House’. Speaking of the place she called home from age two, Humberstone says, “It really has its own character; it’s like another family member to me now. It's such an old building, so there's lots of creaky floorboards and weird stuff going on. There’s even a basement that's got loads of little frogs in. It’s the weirdest place ever. But to me, it feels really safe.” The soul-stirring piano-led song opens up a stark commentary on the places and environments that shape us. But, in writing ‘Haunted House’, what she realised is the physical nature of her home isn’t what she clings to: “I think it's the associations I have with places rather than the actual places themselves that I hold on to. There's something really special about the place that you have happy times in; you start to associate that happiness with being there.” She continues, “I'm so dependent on my family and friends for my happiness, and I have major attachment issues with them. What I’ve realised is it's really those people that were actually home, rather than the house itself.”

Her family home, unhealthy dependency, growing up and navigating love are the themes that drive The Walls Are Way Too Thin. And, along with such intimate topics comes undiluted honesty: “They're very personal and honest songs that I felt I needed to write. These songs are like my diary entries.” Unlike the many artists who remain vague about the inspiration behind their songs, Humberstone chooses to detail each and every story. And so, complete musical sincerity has become synonymous with her writing: “I write for myself and for my mental health. So, I'm not thinking about how other people will hear my songs, I'm just thinking about what I need to say. I never think about how savage I'm being or how brutally honest the lyrics are. I share the stories behind the tracks to try and be as unfiltered as possible.”

As Humberstone sees it, songwriting is the only way she can find a sense of logic amongst the chaos. Writing a song about an experience can’t change what happened, but for the frank lyricist, it can disarm the problem. “I'm not sure what exactly it is; I just know that it's a clearer format for me. At this stage in my life, I've got no idea who I am or what's going to happen. I'm just confused and super chaotic. So, a lot of the time, I don't know how to deal with emotions. Going into the studio is my chance to pick apart everything that’s confusing me. After I’ve written a song, I have such a sense of relief, and it helps me get to the core of what it is I'm feeling.” She continues: “Friendly Fire was one of those instances where I knew I felt bad about a situation I was in with this guy, but I didn’t know what to do. I'm not a relationship type girl, but I really cared about him. We’d gotten on so well that I thought, ‘Brilliant, it’s meant to be!’ But, a year or so down the line, I realised we were just good friends. Sitting down and writing about it genuinely helped me to figure out what I needed to do. And, that relief I felt was like going to therapy.”

With her confessed tendency to depend on others, much of The Walls Are Way Too Thin was inspired by the negative impact that trait has had on Humberstone’s experiences. But, she’s not one to dwell on the dark side: “Most of the EP was written about being dependent on something or somebody else for my own happiness and mental health. But I found it therapeutic going into the studio and writing the most cheesy '80s riff and turning a shitty experience that was really negative into a song that sounded uplifting. I loved that, it was so freeing.” Expanding, the songwriter adds, “like the song ‘Scarlett’, it was based on the period of time following my friend’s breakup when she was starting to see herself the way I'd seen her the whole time. She realised that she actually wasn't dependent on this person anymore, and she began to view herself as independent again. I think that's why it sounds uplifting because it’s the one track on the EP that's like, ‘I’m good. I'm good on my own.’ I went a bit crazy with the synth too, which is maybe why it sounded a bit mad and euphoric.”

Since its release, The Walls Are Way Too Thin has placed Holly Humberstone firmly on a pedestal held up by soul-baring stories, unashamed candour and her fast-maturing sound. With two EPs both receiving ongoing praise, the attention has turned to the potential of a debut album, but Humberstone has her reservations. “I'm really scared of the idea of putting together an album”, she confesses. “Releasing an EP is cool because I can just put it out and not think about it as a finished project. But I’m a perfectionist, and I think I'm too picky to release an album. It'll take me so long to believe that it's 100% complete, and I don't think I'll ever feel like it's done. I probably have enough stuff for an album right now, but I’ll never feel like it’s a chapter that I can put behind me and forget about. It’s scary to think that one day it will be out and I won't be able to change or touch it again. But, overall, I am really excited.” 

The Walls Are Way Too Thin is out now.

More about: holly humberstone