Syd Gets Dark and Intimate In Debut Album "Fin"

A promising voice in the world of R&B has released her debut! The smooth voice of Syd has finally seen its first effort with Fin.

Pop infused R&B is a hard genre to stand out in with the amount of huge artists involved with the genre. But Syd holds her ground firmly in the record, with plenty of interesting little moments that provide a unique listen. The first is opening track 'Shake Em Off.' The song's sensual nature is to be expected, but the vibe of it overall is very interesting. The way the instrumental flows is something you don't hear often, it's very robotic and mechanic nature giving it an industrial tinge as it clicks like a clock. 

'Know' follows up with a smoother yet still pretty interesting sound. It has a quick paced instrumental that still clicks in a similar fashion as 'Shake,' but it has much more than that going in it. It's punchy sampling style makes it sound a bit more big and even longing than the previous track. 'No Complaints' follows through, the short track ringing darkly with spidery synths and a start-stop structure. It's short but also sounds really badass, a very subtle vocoder adding a sort of evil to her voice.

In many ways, while Fin is very promising, this record does come off as a standard R&B record in places. A majority of the core of the record is pretty standard for the genre, like 'Got Her Own.' It's slow vocals reverberate above an effected vocal line and hip-hop reminiscent beat. The harmonies are nice, as are the quiet piano chords, but it doesn't really stand out as something new. The trap elements in 'All About Me' are perhaps the most standard parts of the record despite sounding different in the context of the record alone. It's just not particularly exciting or new in any way.

That being said, the end of the record does change things up a bit. The disjointed bass and beat of 'Dollar Bills' gives the song a more inviting groove, and the guitars in the chorus give it a more classic feel. The backing vocals that constantly roll throughout the track, particularly in the choruses, also give it some interesting sounds. The verse from producer Steve Lacy gives a male voice to the record, adding some color, but its not particularly fitting for the song. The choruses feel like all you're listening to in this track, but it's still working to build momentum again. 6LACK delivers a much more fulfilling verse on 'Over,' a smooth and moody track with a very slow but intriguing build. When 6LACK's verse comes in, his flow really fits the sluggish nature of the track, making it sound completed.

Syd got dark and intimate in her debut album Fin, and it really paid of for her. Fin ebbs and flows with sweet R&B tracks fused with pop and hip-hop vibes, making it a striking debut. It doesn't fully maintain itself throughout the record, but it shows a lot of promise for the future.

Favorite Tracks: Shake Em Off, Over, No Complaints

Least Favorite Track: All We Know

Rating: 76 / 100

Buy or listen to Fin here: