Seattle, WA

SYML is the moodier solo venture of Barcelona frontman and Seattle native Brian Fennell. As SYML, Fennell is more textural and sensory than Barcelona's piano rock, framing his quiet, introspective songwriting in low-key synth-augmented soundscapes with austere piano parts and spectral vocals. Debuting in 2016 with the Hurt for Me EP, SYML found success with song placements in a number of high-profile television shows like Elementary, Scream, and Teen Wolf. Subsequent singles "The War" and "Mr. Sandman," a surprisingly dour cover of the 1950s doo wop chestnut, found SYML exploring heavy and ominous themes, though his 2017 follow-up, "Where's My Love," was an altogether more buoyant folk-inspired track. ~ Timothy Monger