Deep End came to me at a time where I was wrapped in a nostalgic blanket of emotions. "Come and waste the day, watch a super 8 video tape, we were kids in the car, having lighthearted arguments, we don't know what's there 'til it's gone." line in Deep End really struck me as I was in a period of in my life where I was missing my family to point I felt physically ill. I remember thinking "I just want to be sick in my family home, just so my mom can take care of me." and Deep End really verbalized what I was going through. It's the nostalgic haze of a warm night spent with your siblings and how you can grow together and not apart with your loved ones.
" If it doesn't look like a really dodgy, tattoo-on-the-arm lyric, then it doesn't go on." Holly Humberstone explains in one of her interviews. This phrasing alone, giving us a taste of what one can expect from her creative process. Matty Healy's feature in her single "Please Don't Leave Just Yet", her following of 100 thousand people and millions who stream her music aren't results of mere luck. Holly's personal moments of reflection turns into full bodied songs that unites thousands of people who have their own personal catharsis's through her work. She uses her platform in the like of an open journal from writing songs for her best friend's shitty ex-boyfriend to singing about her siblings and heartbreaks. Her works are like little time-capsules where she buries her emotional turmoils. The palpable honesty in her lyricism about the period between childhood to adult life resonates with millions of people, resulting in her being one of my most sentiment-filled vocal voices of our generation.
Through 1824, we were able to attend Holly Humberstone's press conference and ask a few questions. One of the most striking originalities of her work is how far she is willing to go with introspection. So, when asked about her song writing process and if she needed a trigger to sit down and write a song to release her emotions, she replied;
"When I start to put pressure on myself and sit down to plan on writing a song, I don't tend to get anywhere. For me, writing has always been a comfort space for me. I find that it is my one place where I can go and write whatever I want and say whatever I want. I guess that's why my lyrics are so personal because I sit down when I need to get some shit out. It's funny, a lot of the time I have a very busy mind and I think going to write a song puts everything into a simpler format. It helps me process things and work through my emotions. Quite a lot of the time I don't know where my mind is before sitting down to write a song. I feel like maybe people are connecting to it. I'm not writing about particularly unique situations when you think about it. I2m not writing about anything we're not all going through. We're all in a similar age, probably going through similar changes."
From writing for yourself to sharing your music with millions people, being this frank and feeling this naked in terms of your emotional being might be overwhelming from some time to time. I asked her if she was comfortable with the level of transparency of her songs from the get-go as she talks about her family, her most personal experiences or if it was something she got used to once she released more music. Holly replied;
"Honestly I haven't really thought about it until I released my songs. I can't really filter myself through my music so I have to be completely honest because that's what helps me the most. I write a song and wait for it to be released for a few months. I love the songs but once they are released I'm like "Oh shit that is very exposing." After a while though, we all go through the same stuff so nobody is going to be shocked or surprised when they hear my music. To me, being vulnerable is so important. I feel like otherwise it wouldn't be true to me."
Her musical capacities aren't' solely limited to writing sentimental lyrics. Revealed through a suitably claustrophobic music video, which you can watch below, The Walls are Way Too Thin portrays how her lyrics are matched with an amazing production that adds on to the narration and the atmosphere of the song. Holly have written this particular song when she felt where out of touch with herself. The repetitive electronic beats almost winks to how stuck Holly feels and the music video that goes with it proves the case. "Quite a lot of the time, I come up with the production around the same time I come up with words. I work with Rob Milton and we're on a very similar wavelength. To be being able to match the sound with the overall sentiment of the lyrics is very important to me." Holly says.
Holly Humberstone is just like you and she's going through "it" too. The emotional turmoils of a newly found adult life shines through the cracks of her music and makes her more human. Humberstone isn't creating a shiny façade that irritates the eyes but rather opens herself up through her lyrics to be true to you all the while being true to herself too.
Stream Holly's music here: