UK-based singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone has performed a handful of gorgeous tracks for the latest edition of Rolling Stone’s ‘In My Room’, a series in which artists perform from home while in quarantine.
If Humberstone’s name is one you’re not yet familiar with, there’s a chance that’s all on the verge of changing. A quiet achiever currently riding the wave of fame to the top, Humberstone has been kicking goals at every turn, having performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and even recently being named as a recent addition to Apple Music’s Up Next program.
Just last month, Humberstone shared her debut EP, the stunning Falling Asleep at The Wheel, which boasts a number of tracks, including recent singles “Overkill” and “Drop Dead”. Now, in celebration of the EP’s arrival, Humberstone was kind enough to take part in a session for Rolling Stone’s ‘In My Room’ series, offering up a run of tracks from her home.
“The first song I’m going to play is called ‘Vanilla’, and it’s about this relationship I was sort of in for like, two years, sort of on and off in the last few years of school,” Humberstone explains of her opener. “Basically, it was just a really boring relationship and this basically my ‘goodbye forever’ song.”
Accompanied by nothing more than a guitar, Humberstone showcases exactly why she’s become a must-watch name in the music scene, creating a powerful world in mere minutes thanks to her inimitable songwriting and performance style.
“The next song I’m going to sing for you is one called ‘Overkill’, and it’s probably my favourite one on the EP just because I wrote it at a really happy time, and I was just really excited about this guy that I had started seeing,” she explains before her second track.
“I was kind of really afraid to admit how much I liked him just because I’m scared of being rejected and stuff, so this is kind of about all the confusing, weird feelings of falling for someone for the first time.
Wrapping up her performance with EP closer “Livewire”, Humberstone takes to the keyboard to perform a heartfelt song about a friendship that’s gone by the wayside.
“This was a song that I wrote here in my house from the EP that I just dropped, and this was a pretty special one because I wrote this with Rob [Milton, producer] who I wrote all the other songs of the EP with,” she explains. “We basically bonded over having the same sort of friendship experience with one friend that you’re really good friends with for a really short amount of time, and then you’re just not friends anymore.
“I think the definition of ‘Livewire’ is an energetic and unpredictable person, so it’s just about an old friend that I’ve grown apart from and I’m sad about it.”
Check out Holly Humberstone’s performance in the player above, or by heading over to Rolling Stone Australia’s Instagram page. In the meantime, het debut EP, Falling Asleep at The Wheel, was released back in August, and is available to stream below.
