Holly Humberstone has had a massive year and she’s finishing it off in style as she wows a sold out show at Glasgow’s SWG3 Galvanisers.
From winning Rising Star at The BRITs and supporting Olivia Rodrigo across North America, to playing at Coachella and Glastonbury, touring Australia and Japan, and recording her debut album, she seems to have ‘completed’ music already. Short of actually releasing that highly anticipated first album, all that’s left is to sell out a huge headline tour. And now she’s pretty much gone and ticked that off too!
The Sleep Tight Tour is on the home stretch when it arrives in Glasgow, the sixth show in seven days with four more immediately to follow. The last time Humberstone played in Glasgow was almost a year ago, in tiny iconic, King Tut’s. At more than four times that capacity, SWG3’s cavernous Galvanizers is on a whole other level of sell-out. “There’s fucking loads of you!” she announces.
Attendance is high from the outset, meaning local support act Lizzie Reid – called in as a last-minute replacement for the unwell Katie Gregson-Macleod – has a mammoth task in gaining and holding the attention of a busy room. With due credit to the quality of Holly Humberstone’s fanbase, as well as Reid’s naturally endearing performance, the half hour slot passes blissfully. There’s an elegance in her delivery that is simultaneously inviting yet crushing which, when combined with the raw vulnerability of her songwriting, makes Reid’s presence impossible to ignore. Each song is deceptively pretty too; the understated regret of Company Car waltzes delicately over bluesy acoustic guitar, while on sad piano ballad, How Do I Show My Love?, Reid’s tender vocal concedes just the right amount of conflicted indifference to match her lyrics. Most of her set is attended with near pin-drop silence interspersed with enthusiastic applause and it’s brilliant to see a fresh audience jumping on the Lizzie Reid bandwagon.
In between sets the crowd sings along confidently to the in-house music; turn-of-the-century hits from the likes of Paramore, Avril Lavigne, Natasha Bedingfield, All-American Rejects and Wheatus. Looking around at the audience composition, none of this is the music of their era, but the mood seems to fit: angst is angst for every generation. Humberstone’s merch even features emo-inspired designs. All of this belies the sweet pop sensibilities of what we’re about to witness and hints that perhaps irony isn’t dead after all.
Within her opening track, The Walls Are Way Too Thin, Holly Humberstone’s musical credibility is assured through the searing honesty and emotionality of her lyrics, her voice defiantly powerful over her own electric guitar and three-piece backing band. The audience connection is instantaneous, and Humberstone turns her microphone to amplify the vibrant energy of their singing. Between songs there is once again that devoted hush as the crowd hangs on her every word with unerring patience. It isn’t always characteristic of larger scale pop concerts to involve a lot of storytelling, but Humberstone is a unique breed of songwriter, unguarded about her intentions and inspirations. Whether lamenting distance and disconnection (London Is Lonely) or resigning herself to breaking someone’s heart (Friendly Fire) she is always eager to give a little more context, almost like she’s testing these songs out in front of her friends and family for the first time. Her demeanour is so casual that the whole setting feels intensely intimate.
Latest single Can You Afford To Lose Me is one Humberstone says she’s incredibly proud of, representing a new direction for her songcraft and production that is indicative of what her debut album will hopefully sound like. Its phrasing and sonic palette trace their breathtaking lineage directly back to Prince and the room feels enchanted by a calm but yearning spirit. Deep End is a gentle comfort blanket of unconditional love and support, written for her sister, performed by Humberstone alone on electric guitar. The refrain “I’ll be your medicine if you let me” is as touching in a room of 1200 people singing along as it is through headphones, home alone, on a rainy afternoon. When she finishes Humberstone takes one of the fan-made signs being held up on the barrier that reads: YOU’RE OUR MEDICINE, a memento of a “really, really special” night.
Having apologised for several depressing songs in the first half of the set, the back end builds to a cathartic, if not outright joyful, crescendo. The four-to-the-floor of Falling Asleep At The Wheel transforms the scene into a disco before all that stinging pre-show angst comes pouring out again on Sleep Tight. Humberstone’s voice gains potency with every line. The crowd goes with her all the way, the breathless pace of words erupting on resolute closing track Scarlett. “This has been so perfect”, she offers with the sincerest gratitude. It really has been. Yet there’s an ominous sense that it’s somehow going to get even more perfect for Holly Humberstone, as her career is still finding form and trajectory. It’s not too late to join the ride, in fact it’s highly recommended.
Words and pictures: Kendall Wilson @softcrowdclassic