It’s been four years since Syd released her last album, Broken Hearts Club (and, consequently, spoke with us about it for one of the cover stories in our 2022 print issue), and after dropping a handful of compelling singles and collaborations last year she’s set to return on July 17 with its follow-up, titled Beard. Her third record promises collaborations with Raphael Saadiq, Big Sean, Rodney Jerkins, James Fauntleroy, Van Hunt, Jordan Ward, and Nova Wav’s Blue June, the latter of whom appears on lead single “Callin” which dropped today with the news. At just 80 seconds, the upbeat R&B tune is the perfect teaser for the project she describes as a “coming-of-age” album.
“The [album] title was inspired by the peach fuzz on my upper lip that society has always taught me to hate,” Syd shared in a press statement. “I fell in love with my peach fuzz and it made me rethink everything that was supposed to make me feel insecure. It allowed me to take my confidence into my own hands, and own everything that I am and everything I love about myself, regardless of what anyone else thinks. The title also represents the way I see myself in relation to my peers, especially in music. ‘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. Taking things that were once insecurities and flipping them on their head has been extremely empowering.”
Check out the visual for “Callin” below, and pre-order Beard here before it drops this summer via Free Lunch/Warner.
