A peek into Holly Humberstone’s Cruel World at Electric Bristol
Words/Photos: Ed Fry
★★★★★
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Few artists leave a festival stage to dominate an intimate indoor venue, but Holly Humberstone did just that on a crisp April night at Electric Bristol. Humberstone has been amping up for her new album, ‘Cruel World’, with performances on the esteemed Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Photo: Ed Fry
The vibe was fully there, and a queue snaked around the corner. By the time I entered, the dance floor was already half-full. It was packed and buzzing for support act, Heidi Curtis.
Heidi opened the night with anthemic ballads on her electric guitar. I had the impression that not many of the crowd knew Heidi, but they were fully engaged. This can only be good for the folky-singer-songwriter from Newcastle as she embarks on an EP launch and upcoming festival dates.
Holly's staging was impressive; verging on immersive for this small venue. With DIY faux trees, church spires framing the musicians, and her mic stand planted firmly centre-stage, adorned with a cross behind a row of silhouetted gravestones.
The atmosphere in the packed room was helped as the PA-assisted clock struck at 9pm. This subsequently started an intense countdown. With flashing lights and the smoke machine adding to the natural atmosphere. As the virtual clock ticked, bursts of light helped build the crowd's anticipation with whoops and cheers at almost every small, dynamic flash of light.
Holly emerged from the haze in polka-dot bloomers and a black corset, the perfect pop-meets-Victorian vision against the church-themed backdrop.
Holly's band was as tight as you'd expect. They switched it up a little with Lauren O'Donnell Anderson's drum kit set up on stage left, driving the perfect pop-rock beats. Jack Louis Rennie bringing his energy on his own guitar-riser at the back,. Seth Tackaberry rounding off the four-piece on the bass, synths, and keys. Their tight backing vocals, harmonies on point, added a lush bed for Holly’s voice.
Not only the band, but the production was slick. Throughout, adding rhythmic echoes and a wash of cathedral reverbs to support Holly's incredible voice. Her voice was as strong but as delicate as her records. It really pushed every note with meaning. Except for the new tracks from her upcoming album, almost every word echoed back from the audience. Lifting to belt out every chorus.
Every few songs, Holly adopted a guitar, everything from gently picking deep baritones for the grungier numbers to transforming pop songs into hard-hitting pop-punk style sections in later songs.
With the perfect pop-rock trio behind her, Holly had the energy from start to finish. She knows how to work a crowd. She managed to keep the energy up for the upbeat tracks by breaking it up with her ballad-like tunes, joined by the band in support with atmospheric synths, swinging bass lines, and beds of electric guitar.
After a sprinkling of new tracks, the middle of her set was rife with anthems, starting with "Kissing in Swimming Pools", which brought the first sea of phone torches coinciding with the stunning slow-moving light show around the venue's walls and ceiling. Someone in need from the crowd forced a short interval, but Holly returned to the stage energised after a scattered intro of archival voice recordings and projections reminiscent of stained-glass windows, breaking into an awesome version of Cruel World's first single "Die Happy".
"Paint My Bedroom Black" was the perfect pop banger with a grooving beat, funky bass line and a full crowd in sing-along. Bang in the middle, Jack ripped into an awesome guitar solo worthy of the song and crowd reaction. "Down Swinging" was another high-energy performance, clearly channelling her time on the road with Olivia Rodrigo, and driving pop-punk we've come to love.
Photo: Ed Fry
Returning to her baritone guitar, "Deep End" was yet another opportunity for the crowd's chorus-like backing vocals to let Holly shine with her falsetto vocal sitting on top.
It was time to be treated to another new song, this time a track that we'd had a one-minute preview of during the day, "Beauty Pageant". This piano-based ballad was giving ‘Freddie before a Brian May’-style guitar build and the massive drop at the end. I'm in no doubt this'll be a future hit from the new album.
Holly ended the main set with an amped up performance of "Scarlett". This super punky version had the crowd dancing and belting out the last of their energy, leaving just enough to demand an encore.
The encore delivered another new gem, “Lucy”, a piano-driven track that could grace both a West End stage and a summer festival. Holly closed with the crowd favourite, “Dive”, sending the night out on a high.
I have a feeling the majority of this crowd will be going to see Holly Humberstone again; especially once they've had a chance to soak in Cruel World's new tracks. Based on the sneak peeks of the new songs, I'd say the album will certainly be worth a listen. Holly is definitely worth going to see at one of her many festival shows this summer.