Holly Humberstone has released her new single “Scarlett,” the latest offering from her forthcoming sophomore EP, The Walls Are Way Too Thin. Produced by long-time collaborator Rob Milton, the track is a tipping point of sorts, conveying the end of a toxic relationship where all you have left to hold onto is false hope. Though sung from a first-person perspective, “Scarlett” was written about a drawn out breakup that her friend was going through. Balancing a polarity of buoyant melodies and cutting lyrics, the song provides the sensation of feeling like you’re constantly chasing someone who is always just out of your reach. It’s a milestone track for the rising talent.
“This track is my absolute favourite,” says Holly. “It’s a fuck you to the guy that was going out with my closest friend Scarlett and it was written as they were breaking up. The relationship was totally one sided and lasted for years. Scarlett was all in and had pretty much planned their future and it was pretty clear to me that he was stringing her along, until he broke up with her in a really insensitive and heartless way. I was her closest confidant and so I knew everything she was feeling, and I’d see how passive he was with her at parties first hand. She vented to me for probably about a year and so I went through all the stages of a break up with her and watched as she slowly realised her worth and that he wasn’t worth her tears anymore. I wanted to write this one from her point of view. It’s a pretty positive song as it’s about her finally letting go, realising his many faults and taking back her life.”
The accompanying video features Holly on the back of a semi-truck as her best friend Scarlett drives them both at 45 miles per hour down an empty airport runway. Directed by Raja Virdi, the visual encapsulates the freedom and empowerment you feel after leaving a toxic relationship. Holly continues to push the envelope as she does all of her own stunts. Whether it be walking on a flatbed of a moving truck or crawling through air vents that are aflame, she makes sure to match the energy of each of her songs with music videos that are both cinematic and evocative.
“Sonically and lyrically, Scarlett breaks away from the rest of the EP and in so many ways it feels like such a release.” Holly says. “It was really important to me that the music video felt really empowering and a reminder that you can shake off anything rubbish going on in your life and be in control of your own destiny. Obviously the song is about Scarlett so she had to be in the video – especially after being named an ‘emotional grim reaper’ lol. The two of us break into an airport hanger, steal and spray paint an arctic truck, then I perform on the back of it as Scar drives it down the runway. It was honestly the most fun. I was clinging on as I was being thrown about. If you look closely the guitar I throw off the truck is the same one from my very first video for ‘Deep End’ and the banners were at my London shows at Omeara!! I really hope it feels as empowering to watch as it did to be on the back of it performing!! Loved how ironic the bad British weather line is when we got the nicest sunset going for the video. Hopefully that truck makes another appearance down the line.”
The breakout UK artist’s highly anticipated second EP, The Walls Are Way Too Thin, is set to be released on November 5th, 2021 via Darkroom/Interscope/Polydor Records. The six-track EP features her recently-released song “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet,” co-written and co-produced by The 1975’s Matty Healy, as well as the incredibly emotive first single “Haunted House” and title track “The Walls Are Way Too Thin.” This EP marks an evolution for Holly in which loss accompanies growth, and figuring out who you are means figuring out who you’re not. Pre-order The Walls Are Way Too Thin here.
“This EP represents a feeling of being lost,” says Holly. “It’s the kind of lost that makes you question who you are and where you belong. So lost that someone might need to find you again because you can’t find yourself. That’s how it felt to move to Liverpool, then London, and be in transit between cities and never settling.”
The Walls Are Way Too Thin follows Holly’s critically acclaimed debut Falling Asleep At The Wheel, which marked the first chapter in the story of a new global talent who’s garnered over 150M global streams to-date. Having just been announced as the Ivor Novello Rising Star Nominee, to being named the BBC Sound of 2021, Apple’s Up Next Artist, VEVO DSCVR’s Artists To Watch 2021, and internationally heralded by the likes of Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, Triple J, The Sunday Times, NME (5*), The Guardian, i-D, ELLE, and Billboard, it is Holly’s remarkable storytelling that has captured the hearts and minds of fans globally. Holly wants her lyrics to be the ones people could tattoo on themselves and her songs embrace and translate some of life’s most intense feelings in a way that typical conversations all too often fail to capture, from mental health struggles to the dizzying feelings of displacement as you grow out of adolescence.
The Walls Are Way Too Thin represents a turning point for the rising artist. Produced by Rob Milton, who also collaborated with Holly on Falling Asleep At the Wheel, her sophomore effort is a departure from the crumbling childhood home that has been at the forefront of her creative identity to-date, and is an emergence into the heartbreak that can accompany all facets of adulthood. Last summer, Holly and her family were told that they were no longer going to be able to live in their house due to its decay, right around the time that she also was experiencing life altering changes: heading to uni only to hate her experience there, ending a relationship, and having to say goodbye to a loved one. During her time living in that house she wrote and recorded her debut EP, filmed all of her music videos in and around it, and experienced countless poignant life moments that ultimately were woven into her searingly honest lyrics.
In addition to announcing her sophomore project, Holly has also announced her first-ever US-tour dates, kicking off in October. Having SOLD OUT her first two shows in under three minutes, she added second dates at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on October 6th and The Bowery Ballroom in New York City on October 10th due to popular demand. Please see below for dates and visit Holly’s website here for ticketing information.
HOLLY HUMBERSTONE – FALL 2021 US TOUR DATES
October 6th, 2021 – The Roxy Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
October 7th, 2021 – The Roxy Theatre – Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
October 9th, 2021 – Austin City Limits Music Festival – Austin, TX
October 10th, 2021 – The Bowery Ballroom – New York, New York
October 12th, 2021 – The Bowery Ballroom – New York, New York (SOLD OUT)
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