Kenya Grace had a breakout year in 2023—a year in which the South Africa-born British artist and producer became only the second woman in history to write, produce, and perform a chart-topping UK hit solo (the first was Kate Bush). She underscores that success with The After Taste, her debut EP—also written, produced, and performed entirely by Grace herself—which leads off with “Strangers,” the haunting infinity loop of pared-back dance beats that put her on the map. She applies the same winning formula of mellow synth sounds and cushioned drum breaks to tracks like “It’s not fair,” “Someone Else,” and “Hey, Hi, How are you?”, all of which dance around in the emotional gray area between the end of a relationship and the start of life’s next chapter. Variation comes in the form of “My Baby Loves to Dance,” which echoes with a distant, persistent electronic melody and staccato yelps, and the urgent, pounding of drum-’n’-bass-inspired percussion on “Only in My Mind.” While Grace’s signature sound—soft, glitchy dance pop complementing a featherlight, lilting vocal—has earned her comparisons to peers like PinkPantheress and Charli XCX, The After Taste proves the rising star is in a lane of her own.