work in progress - EP

“I’ve made enough mistakes/To fill up the oceans, babe,” sings Holly Humberstone in the opening verse of “Dive,” the gauzy first track on <i>work in progress</i>. This compact EP, comprised of vault demos that have been dusted off and refreshed—with production from long-term collaborator, Rob Milton—is thankfully not one of them. Over pared-back synths and warm chords, the BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter leaves room for growth and understanding as she laments her missteps and stumbles. The single anomaly is “Down Swinging,” cowritten with Benjamin Francis Leftwich, which lifts the EP out of its brooding self-flagellation with smooth sax riffs, an urgent groove, and a defiant Humberstone standing her ground against life’s blows.