What does it really mean to chase a dream? Is it confidence, determination, doubt, fear, or perhaps a little bit of all of them? Ria Timkin explores that question across her cinematic new EP, Favourite Child, a five-track release that turns the emotional reality of pursuing your ambitions into an atmospheric and highly expressive listening experience.
Described as alt-pop for dreamers, doers and those caught somewhere in between, Favourite Child is built around the different stages of finding your place in the world. The title initially sounds confident, even slightly cheeky, but Ria gives those words a much more complicated meaning once the music begins. Here, being the “favourite child” is less about believing you are chosen and more about fighting to be seen, searching for approval and eventually learning how to stand confidently in your own space.
That idea gives the EP its emotional backbone. Across five tracks, Ria explores the highs and lows that come with chasing something that matters. There is excitement, uncertainty, vulnerability, and resilience, with each song representing another point in that journey. By the time the EP reaches its metaphorical battlefield, the listener has travelled through a world where ambition and self-doubt constantly collide.
Musically, Favourite Child is just as adventurous. Recorded and co-produced with Tom Wilding at Wildingsounds in Bristol, the EP brings together hypnotic vocals, pulsing synths and experimental production. There is a cinematic quality throughout, but Ria also allows plenty of room for theatricality, electronic textures and big melodic moments.
The journey begins with Slow Mo, which wastes little time establishing the EP’s distinctive atmosphere. Cinematic chorus lines meet theatrical verses, while rich harmonies are paired with mid-noughties electro-pop influences. There is something haunting about the track, giving the opening moments a sense of anticipation while introducing the listener to Ria’s particular musical world.
From there, The Difference takes the story back to where Ria’s journey began. Free-flowing vocals and bright keys give the choruses a radiant quality, creating a noticeable contrast with the more haunting character of the opening track. It feels like a song that carries both history and momentum, making its position on the EP particularly meaningful.
Then comes Favourite Child, the title track and the emotional centre of the project. Church bells introduce the song before giving way to Ria’s expressive vocal performance. As the track develops, the arrangement grows increasingly euphoric, eventually arriving at a closing sequence that feels expansive and emotionally charged. It is a fitting centrepiece for an EP concerned with finding the courage to claim your own identity.
War Zone turns up the intensity. With 80s-inspired synths, hard-hitting lead lines and an arpeggiated hook, the track delivers the EP’s most forceful stretch. If the songs before it have explored the internal struggle of chasing a dream, War Zone gives that struggle a much more dramatic musical form.
And then there is Our Time, which brings the EP back to familiar territory while providing a satisfying conclusion. As one of the singles that helped shape the project, it closes Favourite Child by putting Ria’s songwriting front and centre. After all the uncertainty, searching and emotional twists of the preceding tracks, the finale feels like a natural place to leave the listener.
The story behind the EP is just as interesting as the music itself. Ria began developing the project in Bristol, initially working with live looping before finding a wider musical family through her bandmates. Jamie McNamee contributes bass, synth, and backing vocals, Harry Whyte plays drums, while Joseph Toman handles keys. Together, they have spent almost two years touring the island of Ireland, transforming what began as a solo venture into a full-band experience.
That evolution adds another layer to Favourite Child. This is not simply a collection of songs created in isolation. It represents a project that has grown alongside Ria’s live experience, collaborators, and changing artistic identity. Now, with the EP released, that full-band energy is heading back onto the road.
The next chapter already has plenty of movement behind it. Ria will return to the UK for shows in Manchester, Bristol and London before heading to Dublin and Belfast in October. She has also received support from BBC Introducing through Radio Ulster and was included in Hot Press’s Hot for 2026 list, adding further momentum to an already busy period.
Most importantly, Favourite Child sounds like an artist becoming increasingly comfortable with the sound she has been searching for. Ria says working with Tom Wilding helped bring that long-held creative vision to life, while the process itself made her a better songwriter.
And perhaps that is the real story of Favourite Child. Beneath the synths, harmonies, theatrical arrangements and cinematic moments is an artist figuring out where she belongs and finding the confidence to pursue it. The EP does not pretend that chasing a dream is simple. Instead, it embraces the uncertainty and turns it into something vibrant, dramatic and deeply human.
Ria Timkin turns the pursuit of a dream into a cinematic alt-pop journey on Favourite Child
