SYML, EXES

Musician/producer Brian Fennell, aka SYML, of Seattle’s gentle indie rock group Barcelona, has now gone an ambient direction, mixing elements of dream pop, synth rock, and alt folk to lovely, emotive effect. He dropped his self-produced self-titled debut LP (SYML) in May, preceded by sublime first single “The Bird,” its dark and sinister production divinely sundered by bright guitar-plucked melodies and Fennell’s exquisite falsetto-reaching vocal. Warm-up comes from LA indie pop duo EXES (Allie McDonald and Mike Derenzo), who are touring behind a new six-song EP Once More, with Feeling.