Syml - In My Body EP

Brian Fennell, also known as "Syml" (Welsh for "simple"), has been releasing soft ambient pop songs for a few years; and dropped his second EP, In My Body, early this year. Like past releases, the album is full of incredibly emotional tracks. "Body," for example, expresses a lot of inner conflict. The lyrics can be applied to various scenarios as to make it more relatable to listeners; but in particular, and for Syml personally, it's about having multiple sides of your personality that continuously clash with each other. The instrumentation is light and fluid, with a soft piano as the strongest presence. The vocals are soft as well throughout most of the song, with a beautiful falsetto during the chorus that gives the lost feeling of hopelessness, then later builds up to a forte, becoming a desperate plea. He stated on Twitter that of the songs on the EP, this could be his favorite "from a songwriting standpoint."

"Where's My Love" is a devastatingly mournful song about a loved one disappearing. The lyrics, along with the content of the song's music video, imply that the person died; likely by committing suicide. This album presents a version instrumentally different from what was originally released. Initially, the style was more like "Body;" soft, airy, heavily reverberated, with primary instrumentation being piano and a string section. In this version, the sound is clearer, almost like it's more solidified. The instrumentation is almost taken over by a quickly-strummed acoustic guitar and beating drums. As a personal opinion, the former version better represents the depth and sorrow involved with the situation. However, the expanded use of style is appreciated and respectable.

"Ghosts" has a much brighter mood with a mellow-upbeat melody, but maintains the tone of sincerity that's spread throughout the album. It's more purely soft electro-pop that seems to speak of how people tend to hide parts of themselves and therefore aren't completely "real" or genuine to the rest of the world. Here, Syml seems to be encouraging these "ghosts" of people to break out their true selves. Even more, he's letting people know that there are these different parts of himself that he's kept inside. In this way it's almost like a response to "Body."

Syml clearly put a lot of himself into this EP. He let listeners hear more about his inner self and the forms of stress he experiences. He also expresses the intensity of deep human emotions beautifully through his lyrics, vocal tone, and instrumentation/production, and does so with the simplicity that his name promises. He provides a great example of how less is more.

#newep #electropop #syml #musicreview #ambientpop