GENRE: Pop/R&B/ Rock

LABEL: Warner

REVIEWED: 5 October, 2025

RATING: 5.7/10

Sombr’s I Barely Know Her positions itself as a modern breakup album: emotionally raw but steeped in craft.  Working with co-producer Tony Berg, Sombr expands from his viral bedroom-pop roots into richer instrumentation and polished sonic textures. 

Right from the opener “Crushing,” Sombr stakes a claim: distorted vocal punch, guitar snarls, and emotional urgency.  That momentum continues in “12 to 12,” arguably the album’s pop centerpiece. Its danceable disco-glam tones, synth flourishes, and vocal swagger make it a highlight.  Meanwhile, “Back to Friends” and “Undressed” carry the emotional weight: intimate, plaintive, and built for replaying. 

One of the album’s strengths lies in how Sombr alternates between catharsis and restraint. I Barely Know Her “floats between the push and pull, the acceptance and denial of heartbreak,” striking a balance between confessional lyricism and sonic ambition.  Tracks like “Canal Street” stand out as emotionally anchored moments, stripping back to melody and ache. 

However, the album isn’t without its drawbacks. Critics point to a lack of variety: many songs recycle reverb-heavy production, vocal distortion, and similar tempos, which can make the 40-minute runtime feel a little monolithic.  Lyrically, some lines lean into clichés or awkward juxtaposition, and the way women are addressed in some songs raised flags in reviews. 

Yet these critiques don’t diminish the ambition or promise here. For a 20-year-old artist, this album is a bold leap: it shows Sombr willing to push boundaries, to embrace both vulnerability and spectacle. I Barely Know Her may not be perfectly cohesive from front to back, but it delivers moments of pop brilliance, emotional candor, and melodic heart. In that sense, it is a worthy debut  one that suggests Sombr is still figuring out his full identity, but already showing a lot of it.