Four songs, stripped to their bones and built back up. Award-winning singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone just released ‘it’s a real Cruel World,’ a strikingly intimate EP that reimagines four standout tracks from her critically acclaimed second album ‘Cruel World.’ The collection offers fresh versions of fan favorites “White Noise,” “Red Chevy,” the title track “Cruel World,” and “To Love Somebody,” her biggest-ever single launch, putting her singular songwriting and unmistakable voice front and center.
The release lands during a landmark stretch for Holly. Over the past few months she’s delivered striking performances on “Later… with Jools Holland,” the season one finale of SNL UK and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and taken the stage at Coachella and Radio 1’s Biggest Weekend, cementing her status as one of Britain’s most compelling live artists.
In April she released ‘Cruel World,’ which debuted at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and has since gathered more than 83 million streams. A richly detailed exploration of love, longing and self-discovery, the album traces the fine line between pain and pleasure, mapping the emotional terrain of modern relationships with razor-sharp lyricism and expansive, cinematic production.
Place has always anchored Holly’s storytelling. From her breakthrough EP ‘Falling Asleep At The Wheel,’ a portrait of a girl growing up in a “haunted house” in Grantham, through ‘The Walls Are Way Too Thin’ and her number 3 debut album ‘Paint My Bedroom Black,’ she documented the dislocation of leaving home in fragments of hotel rooms, late-night messages and new cities. Now 26, Holly has built a home of her own in South-East London, restoring a dilapidated house alongside her sisters and best friend Scarlett.
These new versions glow with warmth and quiet precision, the sound of a writer fully at home in her own songs. The album also draws deeply on love, romantic, platonic and feminine, written through daily studio sessions with collaborator Rob Milton, and shaped by years on the road supporting the likes of Sam Fender, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.
Holly’s run of honors runs deep. She earned an Ivor Novello nomination for her debut EP and won the BRIT Rising Star award in 2022, performing “London Is Lonely” live to millions at the BRIT Awards that year. This summer she plays festivals including British Summer Time, Reading & Leeds, Mad Cool and Governors Ball, and she supports Gracie Abrams at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles this December.
Tracklist:
“it’s just White Noise”
“at least you got To Love Somebody”
“back in your Red Chevy”
“it’s a real Cruel World”
USA Tour Dates:
June 3, Boston, MA
June 4, Montreal, QC
June 6, All Things Go, Toronto
June 7, Governors Ball
June 9, Philadelphia, PA
June 10, 9:30 Club, Washington
June 12, Variety Playhouse, Atlanta
June 13, Bonnaroo Fest
June 15, Majestic Theatre, Detroit
June 16, The Vic Theatre, Chicago
June 19, Varsity Theater, Minneapolis
June 21, Gothic Theatre, Englewood
June 22, The Complex – The Grand, Salt Lake City
June 24, The Showbox, Seattle
June 25, The Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver
June 26, Roseland Theater, Portland
June 28, The Fillmore, San Francisco
Festival Tour Dates:
July 4, London, BST Hyde Park
July 10, Madrid, Mad Cool Festival
July 14, Athens, Ejekt Festival
August 14, Tokyo, Summer Sonic Festival
August 15, Osaka, Summer Sonic Festival
August 23, Darmstadt, Golden Leaves Festival
August 27-30, Reading & Leeds
European Tour Dates:
September 15, Paris, Trabendo
September 16, Amsterdam, Paradiso
September 17, Brussels, Botanique
September 20, Cologne, Stollwerck
September 22, Copenhagen, Amager Bio
September 23, Oslo, Parkteatret
September 24, Stockholm, Nalen
September 26, Hamburg, Gruenspan
September 27, Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg
September 28, Munich, Technikum
Gracie Abrams Support Tour:
December 18, Los Angeles, CA, Kia Forum
December 19, Los Angeles, CA, Kia Forum
December 20, Los Angeles, CA, Kia Forum