Concert Review: SYML Shows The Quirks of Love At Bowery Ballroom

SYML is the guy that opens up a pizza discussion mid-show. He is also the guy that wears new sneakers in a rain storm. SYML is also the guy that say, “Thanks!” after pouring his heart and tears in a track. Lastly, SYML is the man that encourages newly engaged couples to, literally, get drunk in love. In essence, at Bowery Ballroom, SYML was a regular, quirky guy building songs that could build edifices of love.

What throws you off about SYML is that he is such a witty guy. He chats with the crowd like a buddy, and even asks, on countless occasions, “Who has a question for me?” Of course, the audience took the opportunity to talk to someone they came to see sing. Thus, when SYML would stand with his guitar or sit in a lonely, dimly lit corner to scale and peel his vocal range like one would skin a fruit, you felt crossed by the perceived paradox. How can a friendly, cool guy sing to being alone and in his head? Yet, that is the point. 

We all are weird, and part of the reason we stress or become anxious is because we are consistently failing at being normal. No one fits in to society, but the goal is to fit into a relationship. “Fear of The Water,” “Better,” and “Ghosts” were like the sonic steps we take to reveal to a lover our inner, crazy poet. Frankly, I kept on thinking of architecture, particularly that of Gaudi, when I heard how his keys and synths constructed strange but holy soundscapes. Like Gaudi, rare are the SYML songs that do not have a feeling of sacred eccentricity like, a church made for Wonderland and filled with abstract domes. Still, it is SYML’s voice that stands as the stability in every song he builds. 

While his future sound, “Clean Eyes,” felt zippier in electro melodies, for the most part, SYML’s music feels tender, tragic, and beautiful. His voice sounds like an angel underwater trying to decide if keeping still or swimming to the above is a greater sign of trust in Heaven/ relationship. Thus, I was  pleasantly surprised to see certain songs swindle into dancing rhythms, especially because his voice can be so emotively raw. Yet, every artist grows, and with his baby “Girl” back to health, Congrats Josephine!, and another child on the way, SYML has a lot of reasons to dance. For More Information On SYML Click Here.