When Syd's debut album Fin hit the internet in February of 2017, I must admit I was pretty sleepy, by the internet's standards. It peaked at #75 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts, including a peak position at #32 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop album charts. Still not having heard a single song off of Fin (give me a break, I'm just a man! *cue crying face emoji*), I went into her newly released, brief EP Always Never Home excited about the length of the project; 3 songs. Because who has time to sit and listen to whole albums anymore?! 15 seconds into the new EP, I was immediately regretting the long slumber that I had taken on the former Odd Future group member (who is also the sister of fellow Odd Future member Taco). Former Odd Future member? Wait... back it up... you're telling me that R&B vocal goddess Syd was a part of a group that birthed solo albums like I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside (the album title that sums up my life) and Scum Fuck Flower Boy? I suppose you can never judge a book by it's cover, but you damn sure can judge a singer by his or her vocals, and hearing Syd is like hearing Aaliyah for the first time... a voice that demands attention; a seductive queen that can kill you by rocking you to sleep with her rock-a-bye tones and melodies, yet have you not even know it until you start seeing the light; because you're so stuck on that sweet, sweet voice. Always Never Home offers a peaceful, yet knowingly unhealthy relationship with love, as if Syd is the drug, and you're trying to escape, yet she grips you and pulls you in ever so gently... and you have the chance to escape, but you can't for the life of you find a reason to leave. If Syd herself is heroine... then her newly released EP Always Never Home is the syringe.
Vocals That Make The Instrumental Sound Better, As Opposed To The Opposite
Often times in music, specifically hip hop and R&B, it's hard to picture a certain rapper or singer over a melody based on the music itself; a beat can end up sounding so good or so awful that the beat sounds better (or worse) without anybody on it than with the idea of someone turning it into a legitimate record themselves; but Syd flips that sentiment on it's ear. Syd's vocal range and ability to craft a song (as opposed to a hit record) in it's entirety are key elements of what makes Always Never Home so addicting. What Syd does with her voice in songs is what some wish they could do on full length ALBUMS, which gives her enough potential to work with artists of entirely different genres and sub-genres. She could transition from a club banging love joint with Drake and then turn around a week later and do a soulful ballad with Kendrick, all depending the mood she's in. Longevity in music prolongs years, even decades of time for an artist when fellow collaborators know that you have more than just one specific skill set musically. Syd is busting swagged-out love bars on the opener "Moving Mountains", a banger dedicated to what tired love sounds like; "I've been moving mountains for you, but what I got to show for it?" she almost angrily, yet subtly spits in the verse, polishing it off with high notes that give that same "tired love" sentiment hope. In "Bad Dream/No Looking Back", Syd effortlessly transitions into a much more sensual, intimate vibe that paints a picture of having your girl sitting on your lap, grinding away and staring close into each others eyes... damn! Sorry, I should probably chill. Sorry fellow HHU readers, Syd just provokes that feeling in you.
Sorry for the briefness of the article (or your welcome...? Depending your stance on reading), but a 3 song EP isn't quite enough to have multiple observations of... although I don't doubt Syd's incredible ability. In a mere 3 songs, she strangle holds your feelings from resentment/revengeful, to loving and intimate, finally to the "back to work" mode and feeling that "On The Road" instills in it's introduction... transitioning then into the "intimate club performance" feeling that could only be felt like a night at Def Poetry Jam, except with soulful, lusty singers that make you feel (somebody invite Jhene Aiko and SZA, while we're at it!). Syd's short and to the point name does not define her artistic, emotional expression heard in her music, which offers reflection and a "cold sweat" sort of warmth that can only be felt by waking up in the middle of the night and missing your baby girl. Always Never Home sets the precedent for what love stories should sound like in R&B, and how they should be told; with a soft and soothing voice that comforts the lonely, and a fire that burns bright enough to light the inspirational candle to fuel the newly single mindset.
Since I didn't include the best song on the EP and I cannot for the life of me stop playing it, enjoy Syd's "Bad Dream/No Looking Back" below.
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
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