Album Review: Sydney Sprague - 'maybe i will see you at the end of the world'
Sydney Sprague’s album ‘maybe i will see you at the end of the world’ should leave no doubt for lovers of guitar-pop everywhere.
After more than a decade of experience in Phoenix, Sydney has crafted a debut which explores the conflicts of life, pairing snappy punk-length songs with oodles of authenticity and emotion.
‘i refuse to die’, a call to not fall into the trap of negativity, is a sharp introduction to her world. The track channels a 90s vibe while shining a light on the creativity of Sydney’s songwriting.
She teams up with best friend and fellow Phoenix songwriter Danielle Durack for ‘object permanence’. The long-distance love song could be an 80s anthem, with Danielle’s harmonies complimenting Sydney over a head-bopping drum beat. With honest and relatable lyrics – such as “I get lonely but I, I get used to it” – it comes together as one of the finest pop songs in recent times.
This feeling carries over into ‘steve’, a reflective headbanger with a killer chorus. It feels cathartic for the singer and the listener, even if it leaves you yelling at the walls: “Can I get what I want only once? Would it ever be enough?”
Sydney’s intimate side comes across in slower, more methodical songs like ‘you have to stop and wrongo’. They still shine with beauty, as does new single ‘quitter’, which makes you emphasise with her as she considers lost love with the emphatic repeated refrain of “rewind, rewind”.
The midtempo ‘staircase failure’ is constructed like a pop song, covering the adrenaline rush of new love. Sydney comes across as a more mature Avril Lavigne as a poster child for Dr Pepper by asking “what’s the worst that could happen?”
The album’s indie rock charm will embrace angsty people who think they’re ‘too real’ for pop, but there is majesty in the record’s chilled out parts. This is best encapsulated in ‘what u want’. The album’s longest track – still under four minutes long – carries the feel of that slow, epic banger in the arsenal of even the brashest pop albums.
The album could be a messy existential crisis, flitting between touchstones from different decades, and gliding from elation to melancholy. Instead, it’s an accurate summation of life. Album closer ‘end of the world’ was the first song produced for the album by Sam Rosson, and the Death Cab For Cutie producer helps the whole thing click together with a tear, and a smile.
The introspective rock, akin to Soccer Mommy, or Kacey Musgraves on an indie trip, is a great soundtrack to the last thirty minutes of the world. There’s no maybe about it, it could become your next obsession. Australia, Czechia, or Phoenix; wherever you are, you will definitely see more from Sydney Sprague.
Words by Samuel Draper