After the release of her debut album ‘Escaper’ in 2024, Sarah Kinsley has returned with some more stunning pop music. Even though it’s only five songs long, this EP still tells a strong narrative and shows why Kinsley is one of pop’s most promising writers.
It opens up with the song ‘Lonely Touch’, a song that details intimacy and the vulnerability in longing. It starts off with some bouncy drums and funky '80s-style synths. The synths build up in a two-minute-long crescendo, culminating at the song’s bridge. This feels like Kinsley's big release, almost as if she is speaking directly to her desired lover. She belts out “I want to feel it all / all the edges of your soul”. She’s let out all her feelings, but is now just looking for closure as she repeats on the outro “where do I put my heart”, perfectly opening this EP.
Next up is ‘Truth Of Pursuit’. This song lives and breathes in its influences, but uses them all to create a unique experience for pop nowadays. The production of this track is attention-grabbing, instantly feeling reminiscent of ‘Pure Heroine’ era Lorde. On the chorus, she bites vocal inflections from both Kate Bush and Caroline Polachek, which work wonderfully in her favour. For a song that sounds so freeing, Kinsley’s lyrics are very retrospective, with her desiring to be with a past lover again.
‘Reverie’ changes the tone of the project. Going from fun synthpop songs to a sombre piano ballad. This feels like a continuation of ‘Truth Of Pursuit’, she’s coming to terms with the fact that her past lover is leaving, and is processing how to deal with it. She starts off trying to cling onto this bond as much as possible through lyrics like “hold back when you fantasise / you might go too far and build a life”. As the song goes on, the line “I leave the fantasy behind” repeats in the chorus, showing she is fighting against that resistance. The song concludes with one of the most powerful moments musically in Kinsley’s career. Through lyrics like “the truth is there was no lost potential / you were a scapegoat for my life to unravel”, it helps reveal that the real loss was not the relationship itself, but the imagined future she projected onto it.
‘After All’ follows, featuring the stunning Paris Paloma. This continues the slow piano ballad format, before adding in some booming drums and melancholic strings for added emotion. Lyrically, the longing for closure is continued; it lingers in the quiet ache of a love that was chosen to end, yet never fully released. As their vocals blend together on the closing chorus, this feeling is enhanced to the max.
The EP concludes with the title track. Reverting back to synthpop, this song concludes the narrative with what feels like Kinsley’s truly freeing moment. She recognises that these emotions are inevitable, but ultimately temporary. Through the song’s motif “it’s not forever, it’s just a feeling / the answer is always fleeting”, Kinsley comes to terms with her emotions. These emotions are necessary to feel as a way of overcoming the situation. It stunningly concludes with the repetition of “it’s not forever, it’s just for now”, almost like a personal mantra she’s repeating to herself.
Across these tracks, Kinsley demonstrates that you don’t need a full-length album to tell a powerful, cohesive story with a satisfying start and conclusion. In just five songs, she captures the messy in-between of heartbreak and healing, proving that sometimes the most fleeting projects leave the most lasting impact.
Nathan Kelly
Image: ‘Fleeting’ Official EP Cover
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