When Southern Highlands singer-songwriter Sara Berki turned enough ears with her single “Fallin’ Off the Heartline” in 2022 to land herself on the country music festival circuit, the response she’d receive indicated that said ears were hoping for more. Few guessed that the 26-year-old would follow her own lead with such a heady emotional through line. While not strictly conceptual, 2023’s Heartline tells a complete story that begins with the end of intimacy—from initial shock and doldrums to (slightly excessive) recovery and lessons learned. “Fallin’ Off the Heartline” sees Berki “thinkin’ bout those good ol’ days” with sadly evocative imagery: “Thinkin’ back when you walked out of my life/It was goodbye when I saw the tail lights,” realising but not quite believing (yet) that “You’ve gotta catch yourself/Before falling/Off the heartline.” “Good Enough” is Berki soothing her ailing confidence with sense—“It’s a lesson that you had to learn/You can’t rush it or you’ll end up burned”—before allowing herself to thoughtfully fall apart on EP centrepiece, the vulnerable and self-aware “Quicksand”. “Drinking In the Summertime” paints an upbeat yet slightly concerning picture of Berki’s physical return to enjoying life, while closer “Heights” details its emotional counterpart with the gentle reflection that “Now tell me, God/Can we put it back together?/Oh, I guess we should/Should’ve known better.”