Dig into indie folk-electronic duo Syvers’ music and you’ll get an immediate engagement of clean aesthetics and polished songwriting. Their family of YouTube videos present them in front of a white background, sparse greenery, wearing black with limited instruments in front of them. You’re aware of the music and performance, while stripping away anything that could distract you. Syvers dwells in the organic instrumentation with mellow synths, breathy warm vocals, and an exploration of pure authenticity and hope. Aligned and bonded, the visuals and sound pair together like an old married couple. It’s then no surprise to learn that behind the name of the band is a cohesive married duo.
Jake and Sarah Larson have been married for almost 10 years. Meeting while freshmen in college, Sarah had a class with a bunch of guys that lived in Jake’s hall. One evening she was going over to visit their dorm and took a shuttle to get there. Turning around she saw Jake wearing this very ugly maroon, white, and purple beanie hat. He was also wearing red wind pants from his high school soccer days, topped off with a gross white Hollister shirt and a giant logo on the hat. The memory of clothing is a powerful thing and one that Sarah still vividly remembers in meeting Jake. As with most married couples, they finish each other’s sentences. That unity matches their aesthetic as well. Part of their love language is shopping for each other, which they do confidently knowing what each other likes, bringing home items to try on. While each have their own quirks and particular colors and ways to dress, it’s apparent they remain on the same page with the basics.
“Our friends tease us and call us the family that always wears black. We have two kids and I like dressing the toddler, especially in black because it gets so dirty. We go places and it’s a noteworthy comment when we don’t wear black.”
-Sarah Larson
Each of them have followed different paths on finding their own unique sense of style and now as a married duo in Syvers, have morphed further for the identity for the band. For Jake, the big moment came when he was reading about people that simplified the decision making process by having a uniform style and wardrobe. He hated thinking about what to wear. This “capsule wardrobe” style has been adapted by Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Dr. Dre, and Mark Zuckerberg to name a few. This reduces decision fatigue and mentally leads you to always feeling confident in what you’re wearing all the time. Also going through COVID had the couple reassess their stuff, taking on a more minimalist approach, which contributed to Jake’s almost all black look.
Sarah always has a desire to try trends. One example is switching to bulky boots (ala Phoebe Bridgers), but ultimately didn’t like drawing attention to her feet. She typically see’s what’s relevant and trending, then tries to put her own spin on it. This seasonal way of shopping lead to clothes that only lasted a year and questions on why did she bought it.
It was two years ago that she purchased a pair of light wash, high-waisted Levi jeans and a plain long sleeve shirt. She decided to get the shirt in gray, black, and green because she loved the fit of it. This outfit flipped a switch inside of her. She began to realize and be aware of how it felt with wearing specific clothing. This awareness instilled that strong sense of personality with not too much color or too much flash, but a comfortable casual and minimal, yet still elegant look.
Jake and Sarah got married at the age of 20 and neither of them had any money at the time. Jake knew he wanted to get a ring, but had no idea of how much it cost. At the same time Sarah had just gone shopping with a friend for ideas and came back to Jake, sharing “it’s just $1,700.” She didn’t know that he had already purchased a ring. In Jake’s mind, he took that comment as a bottom of the barrel amount, thinking that he probably needed to spend 2-3 times that amount, which wasn’t in his budget.
They both look back now, seeing that ring as a sign of where they were then. It’s become even more special now, as they’ve grown and matured as a couple.
Wearing whites and blacks translate down to the footwear as well. Sarah’s white sneakers have custom laces that she received from a church retreat they did music for. The statement “I will rescue you” weaves back and forth on the sneaker. The slim fitting white frayed pants and black tee are from Zara, a favorite spot they like to shop.
She’s gotten teased with the amount of white clothing in her closet when they go out to eat. As a fan of sauces, it’s always high risk in wearing white.
The black belt and silver buckle is another small lesson she’s learned over the years. Although gold seems to be everywhere, she doesn’t like the look of gold on her skin. The larger turquoise ring came from the State Fair at a Latino artisan booth that make their own jewelry. That big pop of turquoise is worn to every show. Holding the ring up, it’s strangely bent out of shape, but fits perfectly on her finger.
The necklace and earrings come from Hello Adorn in Eau Claire. She’s a loyal shopper and doesn’t deviate a ton on where she finds her jewelry. The earrings also always stay and in and cleverly appearsto be a double piercing. She jokes that she’s not ready for a second poke and by twisting the one earring, it disguises that hestiation.
“I love a mix of clean and casual, with an occasional frayed edge. The black and white staple pieces help makes it feel clean, like a little bit of my personality.”
-Sarah Larson
Jake has two pairs of run of the mill Nike’s. One pair in white, one in black. He’s found a way to loop the strings around into a little knot to quickly be able to slip them on and off without undoing the strings. This athletic foundation is a trademark style stable in Jake’s closet.
With COVID they’ve been more intentional in their shopping by going thrifting, finding fun pieces and affordable ways to add the right amount of color to their closets. The lavender short sleeved v-neck, with a terry cloth lace trim, is one of those thrift store finds. It still has an athletic feel tying together with his vibe.
The black denim pants came from H&M. There’s nothing really special about them except they’re 28/34 sized. That is not a common size for men. Jake has struggled to find pants that are long enough and tight enough with how skinny he is. As a tall skinny guys, finding the right niche that works for his body type keeps him coming back to H&M where he knows they carry this hard to find size.
The only thing on his hand is his wedding band, which is the third one that Sarah ordered for him. The other two didn’t fit and are tucked away in case his hand ever changes. His Patagonia mid-crown fun fair hat ties perfectly in with the lavender accent.
“I do admire S. Carey a lot. He’s just like a dude in flannel going fly fishing mot of the time, but that’s so authentic to who he is. I love how that presents itself being so down to earth. Hopefully we can emulate that,” Jake shares.
"I have a big passion around the idea of aesthetics, because in an Instagram culture, aesthetic, artistry, beauty, and fashion can get so blurry between filters and being too-put together. We really want to represent who we are in our music in an authentically way without the clothing selling our music exclusively.”
-Sarah Larson
Knowing the instinct and history of clothing helps fully develop the ear to their music. Their approach on building a song feels like getting dressed. Syvers’ newest single “Moon” carries a toddler-ish toy sound to it’s spectrum, while using a simplified instrumentation for their intimate vocals to wash over. “Fired Up”, another new song feels like a black and white landscape that builds into frayed edges and that pop of color from the middle of the song until the ending. Their 2019 debut album The Weight and the Sound feels even more fused together in vocal harmonies, powerful minimalism, and a cleanly produced outfit of love. That 10 years’ worth of knowledge of each other displays itself in who takes the lead for each song with masterfully interchangeable skill. Syvers is that marriage of authenticity and craftsmanship that feels like that ring bent perfectly for the finger.
“It’s been an interesting journey for us. Like simplifying our style because I am drawn to experimentation, but I don’t like commitment. At the same time, we like tattoos and are always talking about that. We’ll talk about wanting it, but always hold back because we don’t know what to commit to.”
Coming from a college sweethearts married at 20, there’s an irony of being hesitant on commitment. From the fake double piercing earrings to slowly adding color into their attire, Syvers is building a career in music brick by brick, ring by ring, and heart by heart. A dedicated commitment to being true to oneself.
You can check out Syvers at the Minnesota State Fair on August 25th at 1pm, 3pm, and 5:30pm at the Crossroads Chapel stage, located on Underwood Street.
Check out the links below for ways to follow Syvers and all the topics we mentioned above.
Syvers website - The Weight and the Sound - Instagram - YouTube - Capsule Wardrobes - Hello Adorn - H&M - ZARA
