Syvia

Originating in Brooklyn, the indie rock quartet Syvia began life as a solo outlet for Norwegian-American singer/songwriter Ruth Syvia Mirsky. After playing in the Drums and What What Where, she launched an independent path in 2011, cutting her debut EP—the Nordic synth-pop Unloveable—alongside Simone Ghetti. Shifting direction for the next phase, Mirsky recruited bassist Sheldon Chow, guitarist Frank Banisi, and drummer Richard Moyle to complete a four-piece rock lineup. Two early singles, “Two Homes” in 2013 and “Soon” in 2014, preceded the band’s first full-length album, FWD, issued in 2015. While echoes of Unloveable’s shimmering synths lingered, the LP steered the collective sound beyond pop territory into a gritty fusion recalling early Metric and Interpol. Across shifting textures and a shadowy post-punk surface, Mirsky’s vocals supply an unwavering luminous thread. The group’s material subsequently appeared on such series as the Vampire Diaries, Stitchers, 666 Park Avenue, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The 2016 Silent Violence EP arrived next, spotlighting the fuzzy shoegaze track “Anxious Animals.”