Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Review & setlist: Holly Humberstone steps out from Olivia Rodrigo’s shadow in powerful Paradise set
Holly Humberstone emerged during the pandemic, but she was anything but socially distant during her stunning Boston stop.
Holly Humberstone with Carol Ades, at The Paradise, Thursday, May 9
Holly Humberstone emerged in the heart of the pandemic — to the extent that anyone emerged in the heart of the pandemic — with a couple of handfuls of recordings that seemed deeply in tune with life during lockdown: songs that had the warm, capsuled burble of bedroom multitracking, with confessional lyrics that seemed hemmed in by interior spaces while pushing against them.
Even as it came out after the world had opened back up again, last year’s excellent full-length debut “Paint My Bedroom Black” served as a sort of summation of Humberstone’s approach and vision, a young woman trying hard to shut out the physical world while those pesky human connections (both good and bad) kept ripping cracks in the walls.
Advertisement:
It’s a type of material that typically translates best to a quiet, subdued environment, helmed by an artist practiced in small gestures and withdrawn performance. That’s not what Humberstone brought to the Paradise stage Thursday night. Instead, with a sold-out crowd fueling her, she brought an energetic, knowing starpower that nonetheless managed to honor the struggle and interiority of the feelings at play.
It feels all too fitting that her last Boston appearance was an opening slot for Olivia Rodrigo back in 2022. Like her former tour mate, she was no wallflower, commanding the stage and finding power in exorcising her hurt, and finding joy in that power.
Advertisement:
It was there right from the start with opening song “Paint My Bedroom Black.” Even with a chorus about keeping the outside world at bay, the music emanated a warm light, from the hollow electric-guitar plinks to a drumbeat that gave the song a snap. Plenty of songs had the smooth, processed glide of ’80s Fleetwood Mac, which didn’t dilute any of the urgency driving Humberstone’s material. Quite often, the words gushed out quickly, as if she was afraid of what they would do if she didn’t let them out. Combined with the melodic murmur of her singing voice, the resulting tension made her an exposed nerve.
Crucially, though, Humberstone always owned her feelings; rather than something happening to her, they were something she was navigating. That was the case on the vulnerable and endearing “Deep End” and on the anthemic chorus of “The Walls Are Way Too Thin” and the charging “Ghost Me.” Occasionally it happened over the course of a single song, as in the full, arena-ready dynamics of “Kissing In Swimming Pools.” And “Girl” moved deliberately, using space to create a perfect build with a chorus that aimed for the sky. It was heartbroken, heartbreaking and gorgeous.
More reviews:
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Humberstone was beaming most of the time she was on stage, not least when Boston folk-pop trio Tiny Habits joined her to provide soft, sympathetic harmonies on “Antichrist.” That transformative power of community, both on- and offstage, played out in her two-song encore. Alone with just an acoustic guitar and a gentle electronic drone buzzing above her, “Friendly Fire” started out sad and apologetic until the band unobtrusively returned to their positions and came in thumping hard, turning the song into something else entirely.
Advertisement:
And “Scarlett” began with huge drums and guitar before dropping down to keyboards and vocals, Humberstone standing in defiant power against a condescending jerk even before song built back up to culminate in a simple and perfect ’80s-style guitar solo and big, goodnight-Cleveland rock-show ending that brought things to a close with an electric charge. In that moment, Humberstone never looked so happy to no longer be alone in her bedroom.
Accompanied only by an electric guitarist and the occasional backing track, opener Carol Ades shared some of Humberstone’s contradictions, as well as her ability to turn them to her advantage instead of being hobbled by them. The extroverted air about her and smile in her singing voice only seemed to amplify the confusion and yearning in her MUNA-meets-Meredith-Brooks songs about speaking risky emotional truths to herself and others.
Setlist for Holly Humberstone at The Paradise, May 9, 2024
- Paint My Bedroom Black
- Into Your Room
- The Walls Are Way Too Thin
- Overkill
- Kissing In Swimming Pools
- Cocoon
- Dive
- Deep End
- Antichrist (with Tiny Habits)
- Down Swinging
- Lauren
- Falling Asleep At The Wheel
- Elvis Impersonators
- Flatlining
- Girl
- Sleep Tight
- Ghost Me
ENCORE
- Friendly Fire
- Scarlett
Marc Hirsh can be reached at [email protected] or on Bluesky @spacecitymarc.bsky.social.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com