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‘Cruel World’’s opening track, ‘So It Starts’ is an atmospheric instrumental that sets the tone for the next eleven tracks. The sound feels whimsical, building anticipation as it gradually swells. It carries a sense of nostalgia, like the beginning of the best movie you’ll ever watch. Sonically, the album leans into dreamy, soft-pop production. There’s a blurring of lines between soft and disco-pop that feels uniquely Humberstone. The upbeat production contrasts with the weight of Humberstone’s lyricism. This tension mirrors ‘Cruel World’s exploration of love as both a comforting and destabilising force.
At its core, Cruel World presents love as something all-encompassing, driven by a deep sense of devotion. On ‘Make It All Better’, lines like “I think I need you like the air” suggest that the love she feels is essential; it is as natural as breathing. An instinctive closeness moves through the track, as Humberstone recounts how she wants to “make it all better” for her lover. This sense of pure devotion is further emphasised in ‘Die Happy’, where she declares that “to die with you is to die happy”. Love here becomes cinematic in scale. The imagery she uses throughout the track is near-theatrical, turning moments of delicate intimacy into something larger than life, suggesting that this relationship makes her not only happy in life, but in death too. Across these tracks, Humberstone paints love as overwhelming in its intensity, yet grounded in intimacy. At times, this intimacy gives way to distance. On the album’s title track, Humberstone sings “it’s a cruel world without you”, drawing on the emotional weight of separation from her lover, and how destabilising and isolating that separation can feel. This feeling only snowballs on ‘White Noise’, where her isolation is further emphasised. The line “the busiest places can make you feel so alone” is later reflected in the production itself, as the pre-chorus blends floaty vocals with overlapping voices, almost as if Humberstone is standing in a crowded room surrounded by others. The voices feel distant from Humberstone’s vocals, further emphasising her emotional disconnection from those surrounding her.
Alongside exploring absence, Humberstone explores a quieter and more fragile sense of uncertainty within love. On ‘Peachy’, she expresses a reluctance to fully commit through lines such as “don’t put your faith in me”. Positioning herself as a “best supporting actress”, she frames the relationship as something she exists within, rather than leads, reinforcing her uncertainty. It hints at a performance, as if she is playing a role rather than fully inhabiting the relationship. Her reluctance is deepened further in lines like “if it’s peachy now, let’s not talk out loud”, suggesting a desire to preserve their relationship as it is, without the risk of change or progression. Humberstone layers a male voice with her own in this moment, reinforcing the intimacy between them both, but also their hesitation to commit fully to something more concrete and complex, rather than remaining in something ‘peachy’. This uncertainty continues into ‘Blue Dream’, where her tentative “I kinda think we could make it” reflects her desire for the relationship to last, even if hesitant. In asking “Won’t you be my blue dream?” repeatedly, Humberstone frames the relationship as idealised and dreamlike rather than grounded in reality, though she still wants to try. Together, these tracks present love as fragile, shaped as much by hesitation and stagnation as it is by intimacy and desire.
As ‘Cruel World’ reaches its closing track, ‘Beauty Pageant’, Humberstone turns away from relationships and towards herself. In this standout track, she presents herself as both performer and subject, grappling with her desire to be liked and admired. Lines like “come on and make me pretty” and “one day I’ll make you love me” suggest that her sense of self becomes shaped by external validation. This sense of performance echoes earlier moments on the album, mirroring her positioning of herself as a “best supporting actress”. The reference to The Wizard of Oz in “I click my heels and wish for home” introduces a sense of displacement; she is removed from any sense of comfort or familiarity. This further reinforces the idea that her identity is constructed through performance and the need for validation. By the end, Humberstone shows the listener that love is not something simply experienced, but something integral to how she understands herself.
Ultimately, ‘Cruel World’ presents love as something that is deeply human: messy, contradictory, and instrumental in shaping self-perception.
Caitlin Kennedy-Sheerin
Image: 'Cruel World' Official Album Cover
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