Sarah Kinsley Waves At Us In-Between Realms In Her Debut Album ‘Escaper’
In a world where love and grief strike us at the core, Sarah Kinsley offers her hand into a place of retreat within her debut album Escaper– one full of reminiscing and revelations. Tackling the world of escapism in the face of loss, Kinsley carves out the place she instinctively reaches for while confronting the questions that come with such a discovery: “Who do we choose to be when we are alone?” and “Is this person our truest self?”
BTS for the "Starling" music video. Photo via Sarah Kinsley.
Trained in classical piano and violin during her childhood, the stars aligned for Kinsley at an early age. With a steady foundation in the arts, she continued down the path of exploration by studying music theory at Columbia University. By the time she realized her affinity for writing and composing her own material, Kinsley was already an unstoppable force. Her ability to swirl between classical and contemporary pop transcends sonic boundaries that lure listeners in for more. In 2021, her song “The King” swept the internet off of its feet, gaining over 50 million streams. For this project, she invited John Congleton as co-producer, a notable name in the music scene who has worked with artists like Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, and St. Vincent. Having written and produced almost her entire discography, the extra set of hands added an exhilarating element to a space where she normally works on her own.
Kinsley hits the ground running in the opening track “Last Time We Never Meet Again,” where she learns to acknowledge and savor what was while reaching towards what will be. She shares a glimpse into the crux of the album’s theme with one of the losses she’s had to face: a friendship breakup. Violin strings frantically dance across the track as she reaches a cathartic chorus: “I still think about the days we’d sit and dream of other lands / Off to save the world from its own end / But this is the last time we will ever meet like this again.”
She continues down the rabbit hole of imagined worlds in the equally grandiose song “Realms” where her curiosity leads her to ponder alternate realities: “What if this realm is all where you’re mine? / What if this is it for you and I? / What if this realm is the only world where we collide?” Kinsley ruminates on who she would be in a different timeline, almost emphasizing the luck that happens in this life when two paths do intertwine. In “Sublime,” she crawls toward the light in a cinematically lush track that surprises listeners with soaring synths and a change of pacing in its chorus.
Photo via Sarah Kinsley.
The journey arrives at a more intimate pocket of the album with “Beautiful Things,” featuring Kinsley’s stripped-back vocals pouring over a piano– an ode to her classical roots. It’s an emotionally charged track in the form of a gentle whisper, beautifully translating the guilt and anger that comes with loss: “How can beautiful things still be around? / After you’ve left me now?” Her vocals trickle in like shiny water droplets that melt on soft skin; she croons words that never impose, but rather gently console. She makes a note of grief’s aftermath in life’s healing glimmers, pointing out the “sound of the wind / As it calls for me to dance again” and “the nights in the air / With moon in our hair.” “Barrel Of Love” begins in a similar balladic format atop subtle fingerpicking that quickly picks up in force as Kinsley’s vocals build towards a climax. The track cleverly alludes to love’s deadly sting as she cries out in the line of fire: “Your love is a heart / But it’s aimed like a weapon.” She bleeds in anger in “Knights,” one of the most dynamic songs on the record. Serving as a heated letter to the men who seem quick to claim the chivalrous title, she doesn’t dance around who the track is targeted for: “You get a gold star if you know how to be decent.”
“Starling” is the ultimate love letter to the friends that we’d marry. It’s bursting with fierce and tender proclamations for the ones that are closest to us: “To meet another is a miracle / Let alone you and I.” Upon its release as a single, Kinsley gushed over the track in an Instagram post: “[a] song for the unending love that keeps us alive: friendship. We are the lucky ones.”
It’s safe to say only Kinsley would know how to close a grand record with an even grander finale. The opening beats of “Escaper” could easily serve as an end-of-the-world backing track as everything goes up in flames. It captures the start of the beginning, the first few blinks from a deep slumber. “Lately I’ve been traveling back to the past / It seems I was asleep for years / Awake but against the glass.” Sure, we end up slipping out of the realities we flee to in our heads. Kinsley, however, struggles to grapple with the cost of reality and puts her qualms bluntly: “When does it end / Does it ever go back to the old ways?”
Kinsley’s celestial body of work translates flashes of memories and feelings into lasting mementos. Escaper serves as a home for its listeners to dance, cry, remember, and forget, using escapism as a shield and a roof– a place of protection and residence. It’s only the beginning for Kinsley, and it’s clear she’s got a lifetime's worth of words to share with us. Until then, we’re more than ready to join her on whatever world she lands on next.
Listen to her full album Escaper here, available on all streaming platforms. Catch Kinsley live on The Escaper Tour, where she’ll embark on a series of shows across North America, Europe, and the UK.
