If you’ll remember from my first exploration of R&B newcomer Syn, I made the observation that she wears her influences on her sleeve. With her latest double single release, “mmm”, she’s shown that even within the space of paying homage she’s a vocalist with some incredible maturity.
Syn Visits My Childhood
Opening track “All Night Long” is a screenshot of some of the most memorable music from my childhood. It’s a playful track, reminiscent of birthday parties at skating rinks. Dancing on the lawn at family cookouts. Hints of Sade and The Woman in Red/In Square Circle-era Stevie Wonder in composition with the signature soul of her voice carving delicious shapes into the music. In some ways she takes pages out of Crush’s notebook. Inasmuch as she takes elements of late-’80s/early-’90s R&B and tries her hand at the decade-specific genre. It’s a noble attempt. A respectful homage that plays heavily on nostalgia.
On the other hand, track “Tell Me” is very intentional in direction. Straight-up New Jack Swing plucked right out of New Edition’s “Heart Break” era. Smooth R&B with heavy doses of syncopated 808 and synthesized bass rips. It’s a classic sound. Something that Korean artists have been toying with and dancing around for the past five years. One might be able to find the composition and delivery of “All Night Long” if they crate dig through Korea’s own funk era of the ’70s. However, “Tell Me” is very much from a space and time Korea has never occupied. Music very specific to black culture in the States. It’s a tricky slope to navigate. The few who’ve done so successfully have found the right balance of tribute and nuance to make it clear their turn at the genre isn’t for show. Obviously Hookuo (the single’s producer) has a love for the genre that runs deep. His work with DAMYE can attest to that.
Astounding Maturity
Vocally, Syn has such a smoothness to her voice one could easily mistake her for a more seasoned vocalist. She’s not ostentatious. She doesn’t insist upon herself. Doesn’t fling her vocals around as if desperate for approval. No matter what the musical landscape, Syn has a knack for fully incorporating herself in it. Composition and vocals are seamless. To the point where one could be forgiven for thinking they’re listening to an instrumental. While her debut was a study in tenderness and heartache, “mmm” shows how well Syn can take genres and fuse herself with them. Instead of trying to overpower the music, she becomes one with it. That in and of itself is a remarkably beautiful talent.
It’s too early to really know what direction Syn will go in her career. If she’s got the ability to push for more, for deeper and more musically challenging. But her natural progression from debut to double-single follow-up shows she has the maturity to explore the root of her musical fascinations and build on them. Create music as timeless as the influences she so readily pays tribute to.