Sir Sly's Landon Jacobs lays his grief bare on debut solo effort "what kind of world is this"

As one third of alternative pop band Sir Sly, Jacobs used his lyrics to great effect on the three piece’s full length You Haunt Me released back in 2014. “what kind of world is this” is a deeply personal autobiographical song which - Jacobs explains in the description on YouTube and Soundcloud - began life as “a voice memo [recorded] while driving to my childhood home to see my Ma for the last time”. Mixed by fellow bandmate Jason Suwito, and with the note Jacobs penned edited by the Hayden Coplen (also of Sir Sly) Jacobs’ solo debut is still in some ways a team effort.

Questioning what existence means without his mother, Jacobs contemplates the future through his lyrics, delivering the crippling weight of his own sadness. Reading through his notes about the song and why it was released at this time of year only adds to this feeling of loss. The holiday season is a time often spent with family and loved ones. For almost everyone there’s someone missing at the dinner table. Whether it’s your first, fifth or fiftieth year without them, that feeling never really goes away.

“what kind of world is this” is paired with a sombre reworking of a festive classic, “have urself a merry little christmas". The cover provides a fitting complement to the original track. Jacobs explains that while his mother “didn't love the holidays, if I remember correctly, [...] she liked it when I'd sing Christmas songs.” Jacobs uses the original version of the lyrics (written by Hugh Martin for July Garland in the film Meet Me In St Louis), that were deemed too dark and eventually rewritten. Adding a personal touch to the proceedings, MY REAL NAME's version also features the following line, “I've never liked the holidays / I might just drink them away / Now both of my loves are gone / I've got nothing left to say”, presumably written by Jacobs to reflect both the loss of his mother and end of his marriage as he explains in the liner notes.

The title alone offers us a moment to reflect on the poignancy and potency of events which have occurred in 2016. It’s a question so many people have been asking this year: what kind of world is this?