Paint My Bedroom Black

Paint My Bedroom Black is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone, released on 13 October 2023 by Polydor Records.

Background
In 2020, Holly Humberstone broke out with the release of her single "Falling Asleep at the Wheel". In November 2021, Humberstone's second extended play (EP) The Walls Are Way Too Thin was released to positive critical reception. In April and May 2022, Humberstone toured as a supporting act with Olivia Rodrigo on her Sour Tour.

On 29 June 2023, Paint My Bedroom Black was announced to be releasing on 13 October.

Singles
On 28 June 2023, the tracks "Antichrist" and "Room Service" were released simultaneously as a double A-side single. "Antichrist" is about a breakup Humberstone experienced where she felt she was "inevitably going to have to hurt the person who I wanted so much to love". The music video for "Antichrist" was shot in an abandoned hospital in the Czech Republic which Humberstone claimed was "definitely haunted". "Room Service" was written by Humberstone while touring with Olivia Rodrigo when she was "missing home and my friends" and felt she "was being left behind" in being away from home on tour. The music video for "Room Service" debuted on 12 July 2023.

The third single "Superbloodmoon", a collaboration with d4vd, was released on 28 July 2023.

Release and promotion
Paint My Bedroom Black is available in black and purple coloured vinyl formats, both of which are 140g pressings produced using 100% recycled eco-mix vinyl material. The purple coloured vinyl LP comes with an alternate album cover. An exclusive 140g light blue-coloured vinyl edition with a black album cover is available from Humberstone's official website shop.

Critical reception
Paint My Bedroom Black received a score of 75 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on thirteen critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. DIY's Ben Tipple commented that the album is "at once escapist and heavily personal" and "a dark, pop-perfect, melancholic fantasy". Maya Georgi of Rolling Stone called it "an amalgamation of flashing colors, moving from cerulean blue to super blood moon orange at hyper-speed" and opined that it "doubles down on her voracious honesty, laying bare her deepest regrets, doom scroll nights, and drinking habits". Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Emma Thimgren found it to be "full of slick melodies and the songs are so very neatly crafted, yet the reach towards a bigger sound loses the immediacy between Humberstone and the listener". Emma Cooper-Raeburn of The Skinny felt that the "influences of Damien Rice and Phoebe Bridgers are evident throughout" the album, which "demonstrates Humberstone's progress in her talent and career [...] although all of the tracks on the record blend seamlessly together, many sadly sound similar to the last".

Rolling Stone mentioned Paint My Bedroom Black as one of the best albums of 2023. NME placed the album at number 39 on their compilation of the 50 best albums of 2023, stating that it was "filled with everything that she does best: diaristic confessions on friendships, crushes and heartbreaks; softly-sung lyrics; brooding melodies for fans to escape within".

Personnel

 * Holly Humberstone – vocals, background vocals (all tracks); piano (tracks 1, 5, 7, Acoustic tracks), tambourine (4), vibraphone (8), guitar (Voicenotes tracks); acoustic guitar, Wurlitzer organ (Acoustic tracks)
 * Matt Colton – mastering (1-13, Acoustic tracks)
 * Jeremy Cooper - mastering (Voicenotes tracks)
 * Lee Smith – mixing (1-13, Acoustic tracks), drums (4–7)
 * Rob Milton – synthesizer (1-13), guitar (1–12, Acoustic tracks), programming (1–3, 5, 6, 8, 10–12), percussion (1, 4, 7, 12, Acoustic tracks), bass (3, 5, 6), background vocals (3, 11, 13), keyboards (6), acoustic guitar (13, Acoustic tracks), piano synthesizer (Acoustic tracks)
 * Ethan Gruska – synthesizer (2, 8); guitar, programming (2); bass, drums, percussion (8)
 * Rob Slater – drums (3, 7)
 * Max Clilverd – pedal steel (4, 5)
 * Angelica Bomford – cello (4)
 * Julian Bayliss – conductor, piano (4)
 * Joseph Lowe – viola (4)
 * Anastasia Vaina – violin (4)
 * Chloë Meade – violin (4)
 * Benjamin Leftwich – guitar (5)
 * Jamie Lockhart – strings (5)
 * D4vd – vocals, background vocals (6)
 * Giampaolo Parisi – programming, synthesizer, vocal programming (9)
 * Marco Parisi – programming, synthesizer, vocal programming (9)
 * Noah Conrad – piano, synthesizer (10–12); guitar (11)
 * Jonah Summerfield – programming, synthesizer (10–12)