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CURRENT RELEASE REVIEW: The Way We Found It (by Dan Bolles, 3/19/08) It’s been a long and winding road for Brooklyn singer-songwriter Syd. The Vermont-born tunesmith made quite a splash on the college touring circuit with his full-length debut Fault Lines, which drew frequent comparisons to work of breezy, sensitive dude-rocker Jack Johnson and wuss-pop confectioner John Mayer. But somewhere along the way, Syd had an epiphany. Following some serious soul-searching, he came to the conclusion that the rewards of life on the road hardly matched the immense effort and personal sacrifices required. He also realized that he didn’t like his own music anymore. That’s got to be a tough pill to swallow. Confused but undeterred, Syd holed up in a Vermont barn to reinvent - and perhaps resurrect - his musical persona. The result: a sparkling pop nugget called The Way We Found It. Produced by knob-twiddler extraordinaire Danny Weinkauf - whose work with artists such as They Might Be Giants and Fountains of Wayne has made a him sought-after commodity in pop circles - the disc is an immaculate collection of glittery pop-rock anchored by literate, wistful melancholia. Album opener “All Time High” is a dramatic piano-rock ballad melodically reminiscent of The Webb Brothers’ 2000 indie classic Maroon. Brief and bittersweet, it’s a fitting introduction. “On a Friday” follows with a guitar-driven blend of ’80s power-pop likely to satisfy the inner retro-rocker in all of us. The tune’s only real drawback is that it’s almost too catchy. The song has “summer anthem” written all over it. A word of warning: Repeat exposure could be borderline obnoxious. The album’s supposed centerpiece is the next track, “Far Away.” A mid-tempo ballad filled with longing could easily fit on an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” That’s all fine and dandy if you’re into it. But to these ears, the song feels like a remnant of Syd’s dark days as a Mayer acolyte. It’s about the only slip-up on the disc. The next ditty, “Lady,” picks up with irresistible guitar-pop not unlike Shake the Sheets-era Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. Following a brief acoustic guitar interlude, the next rocker, “Still Life,” is similarly engaging, as are the album’s remaining ballads, “You Said,” “Front Lines” and “It Was You.” Syd frequently shares the stage with Vermont pop-troubadour Gregory Douglass. He also shares Douglass’ affinity for saccharine pop-hookery, which is on display throughout the disc. It’s no small wonder, then, that Syd’s cover of the Douglass-penned “Sail the Sea” is a standout on an album full of them. Catch Syd Wednesday, March 26, at Higher Ground’s Showcase Lounge with fellow pop songwriters Zac Clark, James Kinne and Tom Cadrin.

Published: Wed, March 15, 2006 OK, guys, here's the challenge: You're a singer-songwriter, used to commanding a stage and, when things work out right, captivating an audience. This evening includes sharing the stage with two other such gents with guitars for two hours of "in the round" performance style. That is, you're going to share the stage for the entire performance, but you're going to be playing every third song -- which means you can neither blatantly steal the spotlight nor look out of place as you stand there for all of those other two-song cycles. Any questions? See Syd. The Vermont-based musician demonstrated a savvy mastering of the potentially tricky "in the round" style Wednesday evening, for an early Nectar's show teamed with fellow gents-with-guitars Chad Perrone and Patrick Thomas. The unofficial emcee of an unofficial homecoming performance, Syd, 23, offered his visiting guests the opportunity to shine with their material. But he managed to subtly keep audience eyes on him during the off-time, through banter with the audience, guitar accompaniment for Detroit native and previous touring partner Thomas, or teaming up with Thomas for backup vocals -- and dancing -- to the Boston-based Perrone's tease of Tom Petty's "Learning to Fly." It's all part of the different confidence that emanates from Syd these days. The singer-songwriter has had the musical chops for years, as well as the touring and business tenacity required to make a name for himself in an ever-deepening field of male songsters with guitars. But the air about him as changed, and he seems to move, onstage and off, with a new grounded, mature focus on the work. Yes, work. "I'm the most tired I've been in my life," Syd said as he rested his elbows on a worn wooden tabletop within Muddy Waters on Wednesday afternoon, several hours before taking the Nectar's stage next door. "This is my second cross-country trip, and I'm exhausted. But that's the way it should be. It's hard. It's a job." The job, he said, is starting to shift from gigs at colleges, before audiences seeking out the next John Mayer or Jason Mraz, to club dates and larger shows, including appearances last week at Boston's Paradise Lounge and the Knitting Factory in New York. New material has come with it -- having spent a chunk of January in a Williamstown recording studio laying down material for a full-band album expected to drop in November. Growth and development is yielding a sound less sensitive singer-songwriter, more rock and roll and, he said, more true to the spirit of its creator. "I'm so over being the Dave Matthews-influenced, John Mayer type," he said. "What makes music good is what it is. If you happen to sound like that, good. But this? It sounds like, I don't know. It's the closest thing to how I sound. It's big, all over the map, but it comes together." And, he said, it's harder than the sunny acoustic pop long-time listeners may have grown accustomed to. Surprisingly so. "This is the album I wish I'd started out making," he said with a grin. Only hints of that big sound are capable of coming through a single acoustic guitar, but deft ears among those at Nectar's would notice the heavier elements. About half of Syd's performance time was devoted to new material, and he worked into his instrumentation lines clearly tended for a bass, riffs that will soar on an electric. The elements subtly support the material on an acoustic level, but won't take center stage until the transition to full band. It's still Syd, to be sure, but perhaps a new take on the longtime Vermont fixture. "I want it to look like the lead singer of a rock band is playing solo for you," he said.