Album Summary 

In Escaper, her debut album, Sarah Kinsley confronts her feelings of grief and loss through a deliberate choice of finding hope, beauty, and optimism (Bu, 2024). As one of the producers on the album, Kinsely blends a large variety of musical instruments from orchestral to synths to a classic rock band. She also includes a variety of unconventional instruments, such as glass singing bowls and contact mics (Bu, 2024). Escaper blends music genres to create the alt-pop album, carried through by her wistful but powerful voice. In just twelve tracks, Kinsley creates an ethereal world populated with love and power. 

Critical Evaluation

Escaper provides an ethereal experience through its use of classical instruments with synths and heavy drums. Sarah Kinsley’s voice adds to this experience, from long held high notes to deep guttural low notes. Each song on the album paints a specific emotion from the anger and betrayal of “Barrel Of Love” to the  euphoria of “There Was A Room” to the overwhelming nature of “Sublime.” These three songs also happen to be my favorites of the album. I tend to favor songs with higher tempos and stronger bass and percussion, and these songs were all delivered with an all-encompassing experience. 

I can viscerally remember being in relationships similar to the one evoked in “Sublime.” The nature of infatuation and uncontrollable desire was something that characterized my late teens and early twenties, and the chorus of the song perfectly captures the feeling: 

“Oh, pretty, pretty, baby

All you do is make me cry

Oh, how I feel so crazy

When you start to ease my mind

Oh, life would be so easy

Oh, life would be sublime

If I could forget you, baby

If I did not need your kind”

Paired with strong drums to drive the beat only added to the overwhelming nature of the feeling, only to be relieved when the verse returns. 

As a young adult herself, Kinsley is able to capture the intense emotions of this period in life through both the lyrics and the music itself. As the lyricist and producer, Kinsley's music is a well-constructed adventure through love and grief. Escaper is enjoyable from a surface-level listen and only gets more complex the more that the listener understands and unpacks the lyrics. 

Creative Use for a Library Program

To promote the goals of Sarah Kinsley, it would be fun to run a program where teens can learn how to use music production software. There are a number of free software programs that the library can use, or they could even invest in a paid software for teens to use while at the library. The best situation would be to have an instructor who is knowledgeable about music production and to have plenty of time for the teens to play with the program. It would have to be a basic introduction, preferably with a list of resources that the teens could then consult as they continue to learn on their own. To fully realize Kinsley’s goal, the program could even be just for femme and female-identifying people, similar to a Girls Who Code program.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

There is only one song with explicit language, and it is only one word. The content of the album does deal with issues of loss and grief, but it remains purposefully optimistic in the face of it all (Bu, 2024). Her music can be easily defended as a good method of coping and working through those difficult emotions.

Reason for Inclusion

I saw a post from Chappell Roan, one of my favorite artists, where she promoted artists she said “deserve more love and a bigger platform” (Pop Base, 2025). Sarah Kinsley happened to be the first of the four artists I listened to, and I immediately fell in love with her soft vocals and evocative instrumentals. There’s a reason that Chappell shouted her out on social media. Given her similarities to Chappell, the complexity of her productions, and the beauty of her lyrics, this album is a great addition to a collection.