Odd Future: you had to be there. For about 18 months in the early 2010s, the L.A. rap collective were the biggest and most incendiary property in music. They burned out pretty quickly, but the likes of Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt and Frank Ocean went on to have further success as solo stars.
Real ones, however, will know that Syd, also vocalist of the recently-resurrected Odd Future offshoot band The Internet, deserves her flowers as one of the group’s key stars and enduring talents, having spent the past few years putting out great solo albums, collaborating with Beyoncé and Lil Uzi Vert, and gradually turning into something of a cult queer icon.
Her third album ‘Beard’ is her finest solo effort yet. Amid what’s turning out to be a summer of great alt-R&B releases (see new records by Kelela and Syd’s bandmate in The Internet Steve Lacy) these 12 tracks stand tall — this is an emotionally honest, relentlessly groovy collection of immaculately-produced mellow bangers.
Syd’s effortless sense of romanticism is what illuminates these shy-but-charged tracks. Callin’ boasts a great call and response chorus (“Hit me back / I’m on the way”) which captures the thrilling push and pull of an early-stage romance. My Love is even more infatuated, going as far as declaring, “If I go down I’d smile in my cell all day / ‘cause you’d know I love you, babe.”
Syd’s rich approach to production is similarly textured, sometimes bordering on erotic, such as the swooning strings of Closet. A lush, beautifully rendered collection of laid-back R&B, ‘Beard’ feels like being let in on a succession of tantalising secrets.
Syd Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon August 31 2026 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Tue September 01 2026 - LONDON O2 Forum Kentish Town
Thu September 03 2026 - GLASGOW SWG3 Galvanizers Yard
Sat September 05 2026 - PARIS La Cigale (France)
Sun September 06 2026 - BRUSSELS Ancienne Belgique (Belgium)
Mon September 07 2026 - AMSTERDAM Melkweg (Netherlands)
Wed September 09 2026 - COPENHAGEN Amager Bio (Denmark)
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