“They say this house is haunted / but all his ghosts I’ve grown with / As it slips away from me / I still hold them hopelessly” is the first line of critically acclaimed UK pop darling Holly Humberstone’s new single “Haunted House.” Inspired on her childhood home, the track has all the elements of a signature Humberstone song: soothing piano melodies, expanding cathartic harmonies, a seamlessly hidden hook, and, above all, unbelievably poetic lyricism.
All of Humberstone’s songs also have an incredibly relatable aspect to them, which makes the listeners adopt each and every one of them as their own. “Haunted House” is certainly not the exception. Everyone has a particular attachment to the place where they were raised and, regardless of the circumstances, your childhood home will always harbor irreplaceable memories you’ll carry with you throughout your life. This is exactly the sentiment the rising start transmits in her new single.
“The house is such a huge part of who I am and our family,” Humberstone said in a press release. “With my sisters and I moving out and living separate lives, coming home feels very comforting and one of the only things keeping us all connected […] It’s like a seventh family member. It’s part of me.”
The track also has amazing text painting moments where Humberstone helps bring the lyrics to life by giving the listener an unexpected musical twist just like the melody falling in pitch as she signs “I can’t believe we’re turning off the lights” to show the nostalgic feeling of having to move on. As the track progresses, the intensity grows, unleashing an almost ghostly set of harmonies that resemble the ghosts and memories she referred to at the very beginning of the track.
Having just signed to Interscope/Polydor, Humberstone follows the success of her previous EP Falling Asleep at the Wheel with the new song and equally beautiful video featuring her parents and the original crumbling Lincolnshire home she grew up in. “Haunted House” is the first single of what promises to be magical body of work and we cannot wait to see her grow quickly into the star she’s meant to be.
