Kinsley drops brand new EP ‘Humans’

Some musical partnerships are built in rehearsal rooms or recording studios while others begin much earlier and for Kinsley, the story stretches back to elementary school in North Carolina, where Christopher Adkins and Adam Staley first met and began making music together. More than a decade later, that lifelong friendship remains the pillar of a project built on trust, shared ambition and a mission for creating emotionally impactful heavy music. Their creative relationship has continued to flourish across changing circumstances and the connection that first inspired them to start a band has remained constant throughout every stage of their musical voyage.

Originally formed after the pair reunited in North Carolina in 2015 following years living in different states, Kinsley channels their combined musical backgrounds into a sound that balances intensity with melody. Christopher contributed guitars and vocals, while Adam provided vocals, drums, additional instrumentation and oversaw engineering, mixing and mastering, giving the project a personal and self-contained creative process. Their musical identity reflects a wide range of influences drawn from the post hardcore and alternative metal worlds, with bands including Thrice, Beloved, Hopesfall, Funeral For A Friend, Baroness and Dead Poetic all helping inform Kinsley’s sound.

The origins for the band were set long before Kinsley officially arrived; Christopher developed an extensive understanding of classical guitar, later earning a Doctorate of the Musical Arts from Florida State University, while continuing to embrace heavy music. Adam brought years of drumming experience gained throughout the North Carolina music scene, performing with bands including Idea of Beauty, Sinister Archetype, Eno Mountain Boys and City of Medicine. Together, those contrasting backgrounds became central to Kinsley’s developing sonic output.

Since releasing their debut album I in 2016, they’ve continued to go from strength to strength, with II following in 2017 before III arrived the following year before IV marked the first release the band handled entirely themselves. The project continued evolving in 2020 when Christopher Jones joined the band, contributing to the five-song EP V before becoming part of the writing and recording process for VI, released in 2023. Following those releases, Kinsley entered another new chapter and after Adkins moved out of state, the project once again became a two-piece centred around Jones and Staley.

The duo embraced that transition as an opportunity to pursue an ambitious new creative vision built around the four connected EPs of Angels, Demons, Ghosts and Humans. That journey reaches its conclusion with Humans, the final instalment in the quartet of releases, recorded entirely in Adam’s Raleigh studio during four recording sessions across late 2025 and early 2026. Conceptually, Humans draws inspiration from Carl Jung’s Memories, Dreams, Reflections, borrowing song titles from the psychologist’s retrospective examination of his own life, exploring experiences that feel at once intensely personal and widely recognisable, moving through themes of loss, betrayal, self-destruction, mental health, ageing and mortality while balancing them against fatherhood, nostalgia, redemption and a sense of responsibility.

Opening with “Memories,” the warble of processed vocal textures is met by the twang of lead guitar before the track bursts to life with crunching chords and rattling drums to deliver a potent dose of gripping sonic energy. Flowing with punching rhythmic stabs which contrast the restrained vocal delivery, the track rolls with brooding intensity with delicate melodic lines puncturing the engrossing wall of sound to serve up an epic alternative rock experience.

“Dreams” follows with the intricate flutter of plucked notes before crashing distortion, fuzzy lead notes and striking percussion is capped by capped by emotive vocals. Instilled with memorable melodic leads, invigorating rhythms and stacks of consuming guitar layers, it’s an anthemic outing that puts the band’s enthralling sound on full display in spectacular fashion, resulting in a transportive listening experience from start to finish.

Closing the EP with “Reflections,” the swell of hazy synth tones gives way to the powerful blast of stabbing guitars and drilling kick as commanding vocals ring out above. The thrilling intensity is dashed with brief flashes of stunning melodies while bright lead guitar notes flicker above the heavy arrangement to serve up an utterly captivating soundscape and emphatic finale to the band’s incredible new EP. As the concluding chapter in an ambitious four-part series, the release of Humans feels like a moment Kinsley have spent years building towards while offering an engaging musical moment that’s sure to win over new and existing listeners alike.

Listen to Humans below