Kevin Bronson on November 15th, 2023

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Kii Kinsella is a 19-year-old native of Ithaca, N.Y., who makes atmospheric, heartstring-tugging pop under the name Saint Kid. After graduating high school early two years ago, Kinsella hopped in a renovated school bus, pointed it west and kept driving ’til he hit L.A.

The son of musicians, Saint Kid is self-taught on piano, guitar, drums and bass — and in recording and production. Oh, and he’s a visual artist who makes his own videos, too, as with his latest single, “Pieces of You,” released last week.

Like many of his songs, it’s a love letter, in dream-pop: “You’re pieces of me / and I’m pieces of you,” he sings, abiding a circular melody, jumping registers on the second chorus and letting the slide guitar weep.

“This song comes mainly from a place of deep appreciation for my girlfriend, who I met this year, but to me this song can apply to many things that we experience in life,” Saint Kid says, “I heard a quote once that we are all the product of the seven closest people around you. Since I’ve met her, I’ve been beginning to pick up her mannerisms, and figures of speech only she uses. It’s my favorite thing, because when we’re apart, it feels like there is always a part of us that is together. Everybody knows the feeling of a first love, but this song is about something deeper than that — trading parts and pieces of each other over time, and entwining with the people you love.

||| Stream: “Pieces of You” and “On the Fence”

||| Also: Watch the video for “Garden”