Stream: Sir Sly, ‘Material Boy’

Hanh Truong on September 23rd, 2020

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Three years since their last album and seven years since they struck “Gold,” SoCal pop trio Sir Sly have begun teasing their forthcoming third album with the release of the single “Material Boy.”

The trio formed in 2012, consisting of vocalist Landon Jacobs, keyboardist Jason Suwito and drummer Hayden Coplen. Their debut album, “You Haunt Me,” came out in 2014, recalling the brooding, edgy style of bands such as the Neighbourhood and Vampire Weekend. Sir Sly earned a following with their hit singles, “Gold” and “Ghost.”

The trio then amped up their electric melodies for their 2017 sophomore album, “Don’t You Worry, Honey,” highlighting Jacobs’ confident vocals. The album houses their most successful tracks, “&Run” and “High,” which landed on both Billboard’s Rock and Alternative charts.

Earlier this year, the Orange County natives released “All Your Love,” a collaboration with Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, who played bass, co-wrote and co-produced the final product. Slightly reminiscent of the haunting inflections from their debut piece, Jacobs enchantingly croons about insecurities while dealing with sobriety.

But last week’s “Material Boy,” out via Interscope Records, goes full speed down the synth-pop highway. The energetic drums, ascending synth sounds and snappy chorus makes this one of Sir Sly’s most fast-tempo tracks. As if breaking through the hazy angst from “You Haunt Me,” the new number is like Sir Sly finding a breath of fresh air.

“I wrote the lyrics to ‘Material Boy’ about feeling free to explore spirituality outside of the bounds of my childhood faith,” Jacobs says. “I stopped drinking two years ago, and this song is about how I’ve learned to cope with life without the familiar escape of getting drunk. It’s a song to dance to, and I hope it can give others a sense of relief the way it has for me.”

Adds Coplen: “After writing and recording a full album, you become hyper-focused on which three-minute section to showcase. Occasionally, though, you get lucky and land on a tidy song that still feels representative of your whole self. To me, that’s ‘Material Boy..’ It’s natural and simple, nearly copied and pasted from Landon’s journal without judgment or second-guesses.”

||| Stream: “Material Boy”