Most people just describe Brooklyn’s Sydney Wayser as indie or indie-pop. That mainly tells you what she doesn’t sound like (mainstream music). So let’s try to describe her music for you. Sydney’s main instrument is piano and her band consists of electric guitar, upright bass, drums and toys (toy piano, toy xylophone and some others). Her songs combine elements of classical, show music, rock and
chanson française (Sydney’s father is French and she spent some time in Paris growing up). But the most impressive instrument in Sydney’s band is her voice. Extremely expressive and perhaps a touch breathy, it is the hook that ultimately pulls you into her music. Sydney’s been on our radar for a while now, so we made it over to The Living Room last Saturday night to see her roll out the songs from her new album, “The Colorful” (although the album is not due out until later this month, songs from it have been posted on Sydney’s MySpace). Among the stand outs played before the appreciative crowd on Saturday were “La Di Da,” “Bells,” and a rousing version “Drive In Not Drive Through” (which sounds like it should have the title 1953). Sydney will be playing at The Rockwood Music Hall next on March 11 and will be here in the borough on April 11 at Spike Hill. She is well worth catching.

—Eliot Wagner