Jaden is so clearly in his own lane that he dropped on the same day as Dreamville without even batting an eye.
Syre is back at it again with his latest weird-core effort titled ‘Erys’. Is it fair to call Jaden weird, or does
his destitute image fall under the “creative license” banner that artists so often revert to when criticized
for certain eccentricities? I don’t care. The music hits harder than I would like it to. There is something
about Jaden’s ability to simultaneously be the poster boy for hipsters everywhere and still create a high
level, attentive and detailed work of sonic art.
ERYS starts off much in the same way that SYRE(the 2017 precursor to ERYS) does. The apparent winding
of a music box followed by keys and angelic female vocals seem to be the blue print. So does the
apparent obsession with the first four songs being named using only one letter to make up a colour, in
this case, PINK. …”They warned him, ‘One day you might lose your spark’…”, Willow croons over soft
piano keys. PINK, the 4 song arrangement, much like BLUE (from Jaden’s 2017 effort), took me on a
rollercoaster journey of emotions, existential crisis and unhinged rebellion. It served as a canvas of some
of my favourite hip hop styles. Blends of trap and other alternative genres made this 4-part series
memorable.
Although this is very clearly a hip hop album, Jaden crosses over, exhibiting even more creativity and
genre- ambiguity with the pop punk-inspired B-Side, Fire Dept. This was reminiscent of Lil Nas X’s F9mily track which had an early Jonas Brothers-esque energy to it. Fire Dept was a refreshing change of pace and undoubtedly a highlight on the album, simply because it is so obviously NOT trap but still, from a
vocal point of view, provides some interesting Hip Hop flows.
The features on this album were not very pivotal. Although I don’t think this album needed all the
features (thanks to a lot of musical breaks and voice effects), one moment that really made me smile
was hearing Trinidad James back in his bag. However, I believe Willow made the greatest impact simply
because of how seamlessly her vocals compliment her brother’s. The songs ‘P’ and ‘Summertime In
Paris’(another example of crossing over) are great examples of the chemistry you’d expect from a
brother-sister duo. The vocal effects were well utilized and didn’t bother me nearly as much as they
normally do from “Trap” and rap artists. In my opinion, Tyler, The Creator and ASAP ROCKY didn’t make
stand-out contributions to this project, however they did fit in well with the overall vision and feel of
ERYS.
It’s quite important to note at this point that although ERYS very clearly followsSYRE’s blueprint sonically
and stylistically this album does not feel forced and formulaic. I think this album is a collage of a young
man’s feelings recorded as he is experiencing them. It is a filled in canvas of status and heartbreak. It’s a
story of kid, not much younger than me, trying to articulate his sober thoughts. What I love most about
this album is how the instrumentation is able to explain his viewpoints wherever he fails to. It’s dramatic
and theatrical in all the right places. It’s a pick-me-up in some places and a bummer in others. This is a
masterpiece. This is a fairytale. This is a good album. This is ERYS.
Written By: Sizwe Moyo
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