Holly Humberstone - The Walls Are Way Too Thin

There’s something beautifully simplistic in the way Holly Humberstone weaves together her understated-yet-epic sound. Second EP ‘The Walls Are Way Too Thin’ thrives on this push and pull. The heart-breaking ‘Please Don’t Leave Just Yet’ bubbles away under a haunting surface, hinting at a crescendo that rightly never arrives. Opener ‘Haunted House’ spends most of its running time as a gentle ballad before revealing rousing, distorted sounds. Its impact is easily mirrored on highlight ‘Scarlett’.

This has quickly become a staple for Holly, landing somewhere between singer-songwriter and minimalist electronica. But it’s the storytelling of the former that underpins the EP’s six tracks, each introspective or third-person tale dark and deeply personal. The gentle build heightens the atmosphere, presenting a subtle but powerful reinvention of pop balladry. A considered use of synths pushes Holly out of any box she could otherwise so neatly be placed into.