Broken Hearts Club - Syd (2022)

ideated from: some new releases I’ve been into lately

For as much as I love a lot of the artists that came out of it, I don’t actually know what it meant to be “part of the Odd Future collective.” There doesn’t seem to be much common ground between the various artists that were part of it other than geography and a DIY attitude. Regardless, Syd was part of Odd Future, for whatever that’s worth, then made multiple records in a group called The Internet, which I also really dug. I had thought this was the first record under her own name, but Spotify tells me there’s one from 2017 I didn’t know about.

It’s a really strong set. She does her own production, and the tracks are varied depending on the effect she’s trying to achieve. Songs that are more focused on the songcraft and the choruses, like “Fast Car” feature unobtrusive pop radio. The slow jam “Control” has a bottomless bass line to match the saucy lyric. The slinky groove on BMHWDY fits perfectly with the mixed feelings and hard-edged energy from the breakup that apparently inspired a lot of the songs here