On Sept. 16, Sir Sly released their incredible new album titled You Haunt Me through Interscope Records. Following the release of their songs "Gold" and "Ghost" in 2013, their new album contains 9 songs including "Gold" and "Ghost," as well as a cover of Arcade Fire’s song "Afterlife." You Haunt Me showcases lead-vocalist Jason Suwito’s vocals and provides a variety of highly synthesized, electric, rhythmic, and powerful beats.
The seventh song on the album, "Inferno," features Lizzy Plapinger of MS MR, and capitalizes on a catchy beat with lots of drums and bass. Their song "Gold" sounds like something that would be in a fast-paced action thriller, the synthesized "Oooo’s" in the background sound ominous and sort of sultry. The third song "Ghost," which was released in March 2013, making an appearance on Teen Wolf, debuts a slower-paced rhythmic song that has the essence of a walk in a forest at dusk. Jason sings, “was I too drunk to say what I said to you/ was I too blind to go and see straight through you/ ghosts/ you’re a ghost” and his words blare out clearly in contrast to the softer background music that still carries a steady beat.
Sir Sly seems to resonate with teens because of their lyrics filled with angst and anguish. However, their lyrics revolve around love lost, figuring out where to go in life, reflection/introspection and nostalgia. It’s easy to understand the lyrics because they are sung clearly and are clearly the emphasis of the songs; the background acoustics aren’t emphasized and most of the beats have a synthetic sound.
The only downfall to their music is that it starts to sound eerily similar to the band The Neighborhood, who released their new album this past April. If you listen to and enjoy You Haunt Me, you might also like listening to Bastille’s album Bad Blood released in 2013, The Neighborhood’s album I Love You released in 2013 as well, or Carousel’s music, which has a similar synthetic tone to it as Sir Sly’s album does. Overall, I loved the thoughtful lyrics that Sir Sly’s album includes and their rhythmic and mysterious beats that combine with astounding vocals to create an album worth listening to.
