F L A U N T
Normally you might expect to see a musician on the global rise living it up in the Hollywood Hills. Parties, live shows, hours on set for their newest music video, bopping in and out of LAX, but in the context of a global pandemic with what feels like no foreseeable end in sight, nothing is normal.
Tucked away in the countryside of England’s East Midlands, 20-year-old Holly Humberstone is witnessing her career ascend while surrounded by familiarity. Touring alongside Lewis Capaldi last year gave Humberstone—who was initially discovered following a home-recorded song submission to BBC Music Introducing, a talent search platform—got a taste of what it’s like to be a popstar, but it wasn’t until the release in August of her debut EP, Falling Asleep at The Wheel, that the singer/songwriter started being noticed (from afar) by the masses. “I’m from such a small place,” she says, shaking her head at the speed and scale of it all, “such a random, insignificant place in the UK. My town is a typical small town, kind of a bit crappy and a little rough around the edges. So it’s really weird to me that my music is resonating with so many people.”
But resonate it has. Over the course of the past few months, Humberstone saw her nighttime television debut, amassed millions of listeners, gained thousands of social media followers, and joined artists like Clairo and Megan Thee Stallion as Apple Music’s Up Next Artist.
Being cooped up in your childhood home might not seem like the ideal circumstance to celebrate your pop proliferation, and although Humberstone is looking forward to restrictions being lifted so she can travel and tour once again, she shares that the house has influenced some of the music and visuals, and so continues to be a part of the musical journey. “For the EP,” she shares, “a lot of the stuff I write about are experiences I’ve had in my house. I’ve grown up in this one house. I feel like it’s a huge part of my identity and kind of defines my sound and things. We wanted to film all of the videos where the rest of the EP was made, so I think that’s why everything feels so part of one story.”
Included in her music videos are little tokens for her family. Her father’s old car can be spotted throughout until it is ultimately lit on fire and burned down in the video for “Drop Dead”, and her three sisters make an appearance in the video for “Deep End.”
Growing up, music of all genres would be played by her parents, both doctors for Britain’s National Health Service, and both of whom enjoyed the arts—her father was a poetry fan and her mother played the cello, for instance. Inspired by musicians from Celine Dion to Laura Jones, Radiohead to Pink Floyd, Humberstone’s sound doesn’t fit into one genre. If she had to describe it, she’d do so as “wonky, dark alternative pop.”
The real impact of Humberstone’s songs manifest not in whatever genre you try to couch it, but in the lyrics. Unlike a lot of pop, Humberstone—who, rather than a label is signed by Platoon, an artist services platform with early links to major stars Jorja Smith and Billie Eilish—has penned lyrics that are dark and often far from cheerful. “I try to write about my own experiences and be really, really honest within my writing,” she says, “and maybe that’s why people are connecting with it, why it’s resonating.” For the time being, that connection will forge over tens of thousands of miles, in digitized formats via wireless speakers, but it’s only a matter of time until that connection is happening from a sold out stage, with a room full of people eager to re-create the “normal” we’re longing for and living for.
Written by Audra McClain
Photographed by Phoebe Fox
