I Barely Know Her

Last updated

I Barely Know Her
I Barely Know Her - Sombr (Cover).png
Studio album by
Sombr
ReleasedAugust 22, 2025
Studio Sound City Studios [1]
Genre
Length37:47
Label
Producer
Sombr chronology
In Another Life
(2023)		I Barely Know Her
(2025)
Singles from I Barely Know Her
  1. "Back to Friends"
    Released: December 27, 2024
  2. "Undressed"
    Released: March 21, 2025
  3. "We Never Dated"
    Released: June 20, 2025
  4. "12 to 12"
    Released: July 24, 2025

I Barely Know Her is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Sombr, released on August 22, 2025, through Warner Records and Sombr's own imprint SMB. Musically, it blends pop and indie rock with lyrics exploring heartbreak, longing, self-reflection, and references to New York City. Written entirely by Sombr himself, the album was preceded by four singles: "Back to Friends", "Undressed", "We Never Dated", and "12 to 12".

Contents

Commercially, I Barely Know Her peaked within the top five in the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, New Zealand, and Norway, and reached the top ten in five other countries. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, with praise for its production and Sombr's songwriting, though it was criticized for a lack of variety and reliance on familiar formulas.

Background and composition

Sombr announced his debut studio album, I Barely Know Her, on August 11, 2025, accompanied by the release of its full track listing. Written entirely by Sombr, the album included four of his recent singles: "Back to Friends" and "Undressed", which gained widespread attention after going viral on social media, as well as "We Never Dated" and "12 to 12". [2] [3]

The album incorporates elements of pop and indie rock, characterized by layered vocal harmonies and expanded instrumentation. Sombr co-produced the album with Tony Berg, performing guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums on most tracks. Lyrically, the album is structured as a breakup record, exploring themes of heartbreak, longing, and emotional self-reflection. [4] Several songs reference New York City, contrasting romanticized imagery with depictions of everyday reality. [5] Tracks such as "Undressed" and "Canal Street" address personal loss and nostalgia, [4] while "12 to 12" and "Under the Mat" pair more upbeat arrangements with lyrics centered on emotional turmoil. [5]

Release and promotion

Singles

I Barely Know Her was preceded by four singles: "Back to Friends", "Undressed", "We Never Dated", and "12 to 12". [2] [3]

"Back to Friends", released on December 27, 2024, went viral on TikTok in early 2025 and topped the Spotify Global Weekly Chart in July. [6] It became Sombr’s first entry on both the Billboard Global 200 and the Hot 100, [7] peaking at numbers six and 30, [8] [9] respectively, while also reaching number one on the Alternative Airplay chart. [10] Internationally, it reached the top five in Australia, [11] Ireland, [12] New Zealand, [13] the Philippines, [14] and Singapore, [15] and the top ten in several other countries, [16] [17] eventually surpassing 700 million streams on Spotify. [18] Its music video was released on April 3, [19] followed by Sombr’s television debut performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 20, 2025. [20]

The second single, "Undressed", was released on March 21, 2025, and experienced similar virality, peaking at number 25 on the Hot 100 and number 11 on the Global 200, while also topping the Hot Rock Songs. [21] [22] Internationally, it reached number one in Ireland, [12] and reached the top five in Australia, [23] New Zealand, [13] and the United Kingdom, [12] among other countries. It has surpassed 400 million streams on Spotify. [24] The music video was released on May 8, 2025. [25] On July 23, Sombr performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! . [26]

The third and fourth singles, "We Never Dated" and "12 to 12", were released on June 20 and July 24, 2025, respectively. Both songs achieved moderate success, becoming Sombr’s third and fourth entries on the Global 200. [27] [28] "12 to 12" became his third top-ten hit in Ireland, reaching number seven. [12] The "12 to 12" music video, featuring Addison Rae, was released alongside the single. [29]

Tour

Following the success of the first two singles, Sombr has embarked on his first solo concert tour, announced in April 2025 and set to cover North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The North American and European legs began on May 25 and are scheduled to conclude on October 28. The tour will then continue with its Australia and New Zealand legs, starting on December 2 and ending on December 14. [30] [31] Additional European dates were announced in July 2025, with performances planned from February to March 2026. [32]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [33]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Steven J. Horowitz of Variety praised I Barely Know Her as a confident and fully realized debut, noting that Sombr "elevates the bedroom pop of his earlier work, giving it a more muscular, swaggering sound" while maintaining the emotional vulnerability that defined his earlier singles. He described the album as "a breakup album in the traditional sense", highlighting tracks like "Undressed" and "Canal Street" for their intimacy and wistful lyricism, while commending upbeat songs such as "12 to 12" and "Under the Mat" for blending themes of heartbreak with vibrant production. Drawing comparisons to The Beach Boys' harmonies and Brian Wilson's vocal style, Horowitz also credited co-producer Tony Berg with broadening Sombr's sound and concluded that the album "marks a triumphant arrival" and "the first real statement from an artist with a clear vision and a sound that grows more distinct with each release." [4]

In another positive review, Larisha Paul of Rolling Stone lauded the album for its "enamored, uninhibited" spirit and its ability to balance a romanticized vision of New York City with its harsher realities. She highlighted "12 to 12" for its "intoxicating scene" and "deep grooves", noting how Sombr "makes heartbreak sound alluring" through vivid storytelling and lush production alongside co-producer Tony Berg. Tracks like "Canal Street" were described as the album's emotional centerpiece, showcasing Sombr's "melancholy and melodies" and drawing comparisons to Olivia Rodrigo's "Traitor" while also commending tracks such as "Under the Mat" and "Come Closer" for their layered harmonies and confident performances. Paul concluded that Sombr's debut demonstrates "distinct internal confidence and external charm", positioning him as one of pop’s most compelling emerging voices. [5]

Ali Shutler of NME similarly praised I Barely Know Her as a smart and cathartic reimagining of the breakup album, framing it as a leap from Sombr's viral bedroom-pop roots into slick, festival-ready territory. While the early hits "Undressed" and "Back to Friends" are acknowledged as foundational, Shutler emphasized that the album's true strengths emerge in tracks like "Crushing", "Come Closer", "Dime", and "12 to 12". Shutler concluded that Sombr delivered a debut that feels both deeply personal and ambitiously expansive. [33] Nina Kudlacz of The Luna Collective described the album as a debut that channels vulnerability through expressive songwriting and refined indie rock-infused arrangements, portraying it as a unifying and emotionally resonant record. [34]

In a mixed review, Pavel Snapkou of Showbiz by PS noted the lack of effort put into the record, which affected its variety and led to monotony, comparing it to the works of viral TikTok artists whose full-length albums are often hastily built around a few hits. He remarked that "these songs could have stayed as standalone singles," but ultimately concluded that "what we got is a lazy, distortion-and-reverb-soaked project." [35]

Commercial performance

In the United States, I Barely Know Her debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, earning 31,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, and number two on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums. [36]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Shane Boose. All tracks are co-produced by Sombr and Tony Berg, except "Back to Friends" and "We Never Dated" which are produced solely by Sombr.

I Barely Know Her track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Crushing"3:26
2."12 to 12"4:03
3."I Wish I Knew How to Quit You"3:52
4."Back to Friends"3:19
5."Canal Street"5:05
6."Dime"3:45
7."Undressed"3:02
8."Come Closer"3:15
9."We Never Dated"3:17
10."Under the Mat"4:45
Total length:37:47

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. [37]

Charts

Chart performance for I Barely Know Her
Chart (2025)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [38] 6
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [39] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [40] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [41] 68
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) [42] 3
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [43] 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [44] 12
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [45] 5
French Albums (SNEP) [46] 37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [47] 25
German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [48] 9
Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn) [49] 21
Irish Albums (OCC) [50] 6
Italian Albums (FIMI) [51] 50
Japanese Download Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [52] 62
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) [53] 2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [54] 4
Norwegian Albums (IFPI Norge) [55] 4
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [56] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [57] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [58] 9
UK Albums (OCC) [59] 10
US Billboard 200 [36] [60] 14

Release history

Release dates and formats for I Barely Know Her
RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
VariousAugust 22, 2025
November 7, 2025

References

  1. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (August 14, 2025). "For Artists Like Gigi Perez and Sombr, Self-Producing Is 'An Experiment and an Adventure'". Billboard . Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Mier, Tomás (August 11, 2025). "Sombr Announces Debut Album 'I Barely Know Her' Following Breakthrough Year". Rolling Stone . Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Horowitz, Steven J. (August 11, 2025). "Sombr Announces Debut Album 'I Barely Know Her'". Variety . Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Horowitz, Steven J. (August 22, 2025). "Sombr Steps From Bedroom Pop to the Big Stage on His Swaggering Debut 'I Barely Know Her': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Paul, Larisha (August 22, 2025). "Sombr's Debut Album Has Everything Pop Has Been Missing" . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 23, 2025. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Weekly Top Songs Global". Spotify Charts. July 10, 2025. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  7. ↑ Zellner, Xander (April 8, 2025). "Hot 100 First-Timers: Sombr Scores First Entry With 'Back to Friends'". Billboard . Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Billboard Global 200: Week of June 21, 2025". Billboard . Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of August 16, 2025". Billboard . Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  10. ↑ Rutherford, Kevin (June 6, 2025). "Sombr Earns His First Radio Chart No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Morgan Wallen has no problems at #1". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 23, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Sombr Songs and Albums". Official Charts Company . Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Official Top 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. May 30, 2025. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  14. ↑ "The Official Southeast Asia Charts – This Week's Official Philippines Chart Top 20 from 06/27/2025 to 07/03/2025". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved July 8, 2025. [Select 2025 Week 27]
  15. ↑ "The Official Singapore Charts Week 24 (6 - 12 Jun 2025)". RIAS. Archived from the original on June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  16. ↑ "2025 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. May 16, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  17. ↑ "The Official Southeast Asia Charts – This Week's Official Malaysia Chart Top 20 from 06/20/2025 to 06/26/2025". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved July 1, 2025. [Select 2025 Week 26]
  18. ↑ "back to friends by sombr - Spotify stream count". My Stream Count. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ "SOMBR SERVES UP 'BACK TO FRIENDS' VIDEO". Hits Daily Double. April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Sombr Makes Late Night TV Debut On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". antiMusic. May 21, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  21. ↑ Rutherford, Kevin (August 14, 2025). "Sombr Hits No. 1 on Hot Rock Songs Chart With 'Undressed,' '12 to 12′ Debuts on Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs: Week of August 16, 2025" . Billboard . Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  23. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  24. ↑ "undressed by sombr - Spotify stream count". My Stream Count. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Sombr Is 'Undressed' for Success". Hits Daily Double. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  26. ↑ sombr - Undressed. YouTube (Video). Jimmy Kimmel Live!. July 23, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Billboard Global 200". Billboard. July 5, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Billboard Global 200". Billboard. August 16, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  29. ↑ Mier, Tomás (July 24, 2025). "Addison Rae Is Sombr's Sultry Obsession in "12 to 12" Video". Rolling Stone . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  30. ↑ Denning, Reagan (April 23, 2025). "Sombr takes The Late Nights & Young Romance Tour on the road". Melodic Mag. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  31. ↑ Lynch, Jessica (May 19, 2025). "Sombr Announces 2025 Australia and New Zealand Headline Tour". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  32. ↑ Taylor, Sam (July 14, 2026). "Sombr has booked a 2026 UK and European tour". Dork. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  33. 1 2 Shutler, Ali (August 28, 2025). "Sombr – 'I Barely Know Her' review: smirking sad boy pop". NME. Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  34. ↑ "REVIEW: sombr's Debut Album 'I Barely Know Her' Unites Yearners Through Vulnerability". THE LUNA COLLECTIVE. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  35. ↑ Snapkou, Pavel (August 23, 2025). "Album Review: Sombr "I Barely Know Her"" . Showbiz by PS. Archived from the original on August 24, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  36. 1 2 Rutherford, Kevin (September 2, 2025). "Sombr's 'Undressed' Becomes the First New No. 1 Hit on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs in 2025". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  37. ↑ I Barely Know Her / sombr / Credits, Tidal, August 22, 2025, retrieved August 23, 2025
  38. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 1, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  39. ↑ "Longplay Charts vom 29. August 2025". Ö3 Austria Top 40 . Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  40. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sombr – I Barely Know Her" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  41. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sombr – I Barely Know Her" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  42. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 35.Týden 2025 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Album Top-40 Uge 34, 2025". Hitlisten . Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  44. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sombr – I Barely Know Her" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  45. ↑ "Sombr: I Barely Know Her" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Top Albums (Semaine du 29 Aout 2025)". SNEP . Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sombr – I Barely Know Her" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  48. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts Top 20 Rock/Metal-Charts – 29 August 2025" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts . Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  49. ↑ "Tónlistinn – Plötur: Streymi, spilun og sala viku 35. Birt 30. ágúst 2025 – Næst uppfært 6. september 2025" (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on August 29, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  50. ↑ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  51. ↑ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 35 (dal 22.08.2025 al 28.08.2025)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  52. ↑ "Billboard Japan Download Albums – August 27, 2025". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  53. ↑ "2025 35-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. August 29, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  54. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. August 29, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  55. ↑ "Album 2025 uke 35". IFPI Norge . Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  56. ↑ "Top 200 Álbuns Semana 35 de 2025" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. p. 2. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  57. ↑ "Veckolista Album, vecka 35, 2025" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  58. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sombr – I Barely Know Her". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  59. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  60. ↑ @billboardcharts (September 2, 2025). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200..." (Tweet). Retrieved September 3, 2025– via Twitter.
  61. ↑ I Barely Know Her by sombr on Apple Music, August 22, 2025, retrieved August 13, 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  62. ↑ "Sombr - Official Store". Archived from the original on August 22, 2025. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  63. ↑ "Sombr Vinyl & Music". Rough Trade . Archived from the original on August 29, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
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