“I want to do every genre in the book,” Sycco—Sasha McLeod—tells Apple Music. The Brisbane (Jagera/Turrbal)-born artist of Torres Strait Islander descent learned guitar when she was young, and later began tinkering with bass and drums, as well as learning to produce and record at home. She’s honed her skills over the years, and her boundaryless approach to music-making is on full display throughout the cutely titled Sycco’s First EP. It only takes a quick listen to notice how well she kept up her promise to do every genre—“Best Before” blends chunky guitars and a bright pop melody with a ska-type rhythm (only with synths instead of trumpets); “Past Life” is deeply bouncy and electronic; “Dribble” is broad, breathy, and psychedelic; “Happy You’re Here” glides along over gentle guitars and an indie beat.
But there’s more to the EP than its range of sounds: On “My Ways,” McLeod admits to struggling with finding structure and feeling grounded. “Been sleeping in my jeans all week, trying to find a second just to pause and blink, wanna switch up all the bad routines,” she sings over a bass groove. “Sit down, sleep now, breathe in, breathe out.” And final track “Time’s Up”—which she describes as her “favorite song I have released so far”—is a joyful breakup song that was cathartic for the artist to write. “This song speaks deeply to me and reflects what I want to create as an artist,” she says. “Given its weird structure and textures, it was a little bit risky to share it with the world, but it’s so true to me that I wanted people to hear it and hopefully resonate with it.”