We’ve all been sold the rom-com fantasy. The late-night drives, the cinema dates, the spark where everything just works out by the time the credits roll. Real-life relationships, though, usually end up a lot messier, defined by unspoken tension and heavy conversations that only happen after one too many drinks. If that bittersweet frustration hits a little too close to home, Sydney Sherrill and Kids Dont Smoke have delivered the exact soundtrack for it.
Dallas-raised, New York City-based artist Sydney Sherrill has been building serious momentum since debuting last year with her single, “Closer.” Having just wrapped up a 10-date tour across the UK and Europe, she is set to hit the road again this fall for 10 North American shows, supporting Boys Go To Jupiter in September and LOLO in October.
For her latest release, “Say It 2 Me Sober,” she joined forces with Kids Dont Smoke, an indie alternative project based in Vienna, Austria. What started as a bedroom project for the solo artist has grown into a full live band, gracing major European stages like Sziget Festival and opening for acts like Sharktank. Known for blending raw vulnerability with atmospheric late-night vibes, Kids Dont Smoke proved to be the perfect creative counterpart for Sydney, co-writing the track alongside Emma Rose Botti and fellow musician Sabrina Song.
Leaning into dreamy bedroom pop with an edge of distorted, hyperpop textures, the track pulls you in immediately with a messy, upbeat energy before softening right as Sydney’s vocals drift into the first verse. The hazy, atmospheric production sets the scene for a two-sided story of tough love, capturing the raw ache of wanting total honesty from someone who can only seem to be real when they’re out of their head.
It hits directly at the messy middle of a dynamic – that exhausting space where you are angry, thoroughly confused, and ready to pull your hair out (we’ve all been there.. right?), yet still completely unable to walk away. Lines like “Wish you could say it to me sober / Cheap liquid sitting on my tongue / I wish someone would run me over / Maybe then id be having fun” capture that dramatic apathy that settles in when you’ve reached your limit. By presenting both sides of the story, Sydney and Kids Dont Smoke turn relationship chaos into a much relatable indie anthem.
