EP Review: Holly Humberstone - 'Work In Progress'
Award-winning Holly Humberstone delivers yet another striking body of work in the form of her latest EP, ‘Work In Progress’.
Having taken the musical world by storm in recent years, the incredibly talented artist has showed no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Her critically acclaimed, top 5 debut record ‘Paint My Bedroom Black’ sent out a huge message that showed off just how great the potential is for Holly Humberstone.
Fans were delighted at the news of a new EP, which boasts some of her best work to date.
‘Work In Progress’ is a four-track EP which holds some truly excellent music.
Kicking things off is ‘Dive’, a number which begins with an acoustic guitar and the instantly recognisable voice of Holly Humberstone. Her vocals on this track will grip listeners. During the verses, she sings in isolation, before the chorus shows off a harmonized section. It’s breath-taking. The singer tells a tale not only with her lyrics, but with her vocal style on this one.
The titular number follows this unmissable opener. ‘Work In Progress’ as a song is just as captivating as the EP in its entirety. This one remains a soft, acoustic number, with an almost heartbeat-like drum beat which drives throughout.
In the track, Humberstone tells the story of an imperfect love, singing: “I know that you’re incomplete, but that’s why I’m on your street again, I’m loving this work in progress.” It really is an incredible track, with music and lyricism matching one another beautifully.
The beauty of this new EP is that the tracks which have been put out to the public are those which weren’t previously selected for Humberstone’s album. The singer-songwriter has said, on the EP, that “these songs were demos I couldn’t leave behind. I went back through the archives and discovered these lost older versions of myself mixed up with the present version of me.” This merging of emotions and attitudes has made for some excellent music which fans will be ecstatic to hear.
The third track of the EP is ‘Down Swinging’, which is faster-paced, incorporating some more electronic sounds. The verses will have listeners bopping their heads to the infectious beat. As usual, Humberstone’s voice is unmissably salient. She possesses incredible talent, and ‘Down Swinging’ showcases her abilities perfectly. As the track progresses, the instrumentation creates a real feeling of triumph. HH sings “I can take it, give me hellfire, watch me keep my cool tonight.” Her resilience and will power that she sings of in the track are reflected in the triumphant musical display.
The EP is closed out with the stunning track ‘Easy Tiger’. This one feels to be a moment of reflection at the close of the body of work. Yet again, this one is largely acoustic and is incredibly emotive. There’s a real sense of unity created in this one, by Humberstone’s expert lyricism. She sings: 2We’ll ride this out together’. While the track feels emotional, she gives listeners hope with her beautiful lyrics. The message that it will be okay, if we stick together, is poignant.
‘Work In Progress’ is yet another brilliant body of work put out by Holly Humberstone. Fans will be delighted that the tracks from the EP have made it, and not remained as unheard demos. Each tarck tells a tale in its own way.
Holly Humberstone has once again shown her undeniable ability to muster up incredibly emotive music which grips listeners from the get-go.
Words by Matthew Caslin
