New EP proves Sara Hartman is the next big popstar.

 

At the start of the year, we cast an ear to the phenomenal Sara Hartman and branded her “a lungful of fresh air” due to her folk-flirting pop sounds on Two Feet Off The Ground. Now the songstress is back with her Satellite EP, which proves how right – and how wrong – we were in this description.

For all the energetic anthemia of her lead single, it wouldn’t be beyond expectation for the EP to be a bit of a let down. After all, many artists who hit the ground running with such a powerful single find it difficult to maintain or build on that momentum. Fortunately, this is where Sara Hartman steps up and sets herself apart from the rest of the solo artists emerging onto the musical scene. Satellite is, quite simply, astonishingly perfect from start to finish.

But with that said, Hartman does like to toy with expectations. The hauntingly innocent opening hook of title track Satellite gives way to a picked folk-esque melody, feeding expectations of this being an EP that will lack any sort of punch other than the lead single. Give it time, however, and the song explodes into an equally anthemic soundscape. Punchy drums drive the track forward as Hartman’s vocals deliver radio-friendly pop melodies over the top, building to a glorious singalong made for festival tents as infectious backing vocals and crystalline guitar tones swirl around.

That’s when things get much more interesting. While the EP is bookended by tracks with oddly folkish leanings, the other two tracks are pure pop gold. Monster Lead Me Home is a bout of bubblegum pop with a childishly charming keys section and opening vocal hook, which matures in time for the chorus. Conversely, Stranger In A Room catches a much more emotion-driven and mature sound from start to finish. Hartman’s music typically has an innocence and purity about it, and it’s only on this track that it feels she is actively working to deny that aspect.

Yet try as she might, the Satellite EP remains underpinned by that sense of youthful naivety and innocence. Hartman is taking big steps towards becoming one of pop’s best emerging songwriters, with this charming freshness about her that means every track becomes instantly worthy of incessant radio airplay. In time, she will inevitably grow into this role while beginning to develop songs darker and more aged in their outlook and deliveries. But for now, Hartman has taken the best possible first steps into the world of pop stardom.