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1340mag.com
Mark Fisher

Syd
" Week Days, Weak Knees"
Independent
Singer/Songwriter Syd seems to be all the rage on the internet these days, and with good reason because he's a lot better than most of what you'll find on the internet. However here I am with CD in hand, which takes your music into a whole other world. For the most part I like this debut from Syd. Imagine a more straightforward sounding (and more male) Ani Difranco and you have a good start point. What is most reminiscent of the immortal Ms. Ani, is Syd's guitar playing. It's very percussive and quirky. The songs here are all pretty much in the singer/songwriter vein yet most of them manage to come off a little more upbeat than a lot of what you hear these days.

Indie-Music.com
2.21.03

Artist: Syd
CD: Week Days, Weak Knees
Style: Rock, Pop
Quote: "The voice is young, but the soul has some mileage on it".
By Jennifer Layton
Syd is an early 20-something artist who writes songs that reveal the insights and questioning of someone older. The voice is young, but the soul has some mileage on it.
Not to mention guts. He and drummer Jason Gardner recorded Week Days, Weak Knees in Gardner’s Boston Apartment in less than two weeks. For a budget of five hundred dollars. Which creates another deception in the sound: this is a very professional-sounding, impressive recording that sounds radio- ready despite its minimal recording circumstances. I’d love to see what these guys could do in a real studio.
Then again, a real studio might take the edge off this sound. Each track sounds like Syd’s just kicking back on an old battered sofa, experimenting with different rhythms and making up songs on the spot as he records. The rolling beat and rapid strumming of “Picking Up.” The alluring groove of “Too Well.” The Latin rhythms of “Letters.” This is Dave Matthews with a bit more daring and the occasional swagger.
And again, those lyrics delve deep, showing a more analytical mind than most guys barely out of their teens. “Funny how what’s foggy now will never be this clear again,” he sings. Where he got that kind of perspective so young, I’m not sure, but at this rate, he’ll be a self-taught professional psychiatrist by the time he hits his thirties. If my insurance covers it, I may need a few sessions with him.

Seven Days
Dec 19, 2002
Ethan Covey

Syd, Week Days Weak Knees
Number Five With A Bullet, CD

Syd is a 21-year-old singer-songwriter with a powerful set of pipes. In his first proper release, Week Days, Weak Knees, the Burlington native perfects his brand of passionate, sensitive-guy folk-rock. Much like fellow ex-local Gregory Douglass, Syd writes deceptively simple songs that ride on his suprisingly soulful, resonant voice. The disc's 10 tunes swing from the jumpy pop of "Picking Up" to tear-jerkers like "Mexico." On most of the cuts, Syd is joined by drummer Jason Gardner and bassist Tom Bianchi, who add some needed backbone to the material. Syd has penned an impressive string of lost-love songs, and it makes Week Days, Weak Knees a solid album.