Syd has announced her third solo album Beard, due 17th July via Free Lunch/Warner Records, alongside lead single ‘Callin’ featuring Florida duo Blu June.
The follow-up to 2022’s Broken Hearts Club is Syd’s first album in four years and marks, by her own account, the most confident and self-directed work of her solo career. It was co-produced by Syd herself alongside collaborators including Nova Wav, the production duo behind some of Beyonce’s most acclaimed recent work, and features contributions from Raphael Saadiq, Big Sean, Rodney Jerkins, James Fauntleroy, Van Hunt and Jordan Ward.
The album’s title requires some explanation, and Syd has given it fully. “Beard is a coming of age album for me,” she has said. “It’s a snapshot of what my life looks like right now. The title was inspired by the peach fuzz on my upper lip that society has always taught me to hate. I fell in love with my peach fuzz and it made me rethink everything that was supposed to make me feel insecure.” The title carries a second meaning too: “The bearded lady. Not so much a spectacle in my case, but an anomaly and an outlier. Hard to compare. I’m owning that too.”
Lead single ‘Callin’ is a smooth, smoky piece of alt-R&B about unrequited love and the particular frustration of not being able to get through to someone. It is immediately infectious, Blu June’s vocal sitting warmly alongside Syd’s production instincts. Since her early days in Odd Future and as co-founder of The Internet, Syd has written and produced for Zayn, Lil Uzi Vert, Kehlani, Disclosure and Kelly Rowland. Beard is the record where that experience arrives in full service of her own vision.
A UK and European tour follows the album’s release, opening at All Points East in London on 29th August.
29 Aug – All Points East, London
31 Aug – Albert Hall, Manchester
1 Sep – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
3 Sep – SWG3 Galvanisers, Glasgow
5 Sep – La Cigale, Paris
6 Sep – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
7 Sep – Melkweg, Amsterdam
9 Sep – Amager Bio, Copenhagen
