As SYML, Fennell is more textural and sensory than Barcelona's piano rock, framing his quiet, introspective songwriting in low-key synth-augmented soundscapes with austere piano parts and spectral vocals. Debuting in 2016 with the Hurt for Me EP, SYML found success with song placements in a number of high-profile television shows like Elementary, Scream, and Teen Wolf. Subsequent singles "The War" and "Mr. Sandman," a surprisingly dour cover of the 1950s doo wop chestnut, found SYML exploring heavy and ominous themes, though his 2017 follow-up, "Where's My Love," was an altogether more buoyant, folk-inspired track. "Where's My Love" proved to be a hit for SYML, staying on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart for over 20 weeks. Over the next year, it was rolled out in a variety of different forms, including an acoustic version, a solo piano version, a Sam Feldt electronic remix, and a duet with Lily Kershaw. The original mix appeared on SYML's 2018 EP In My Body.
In 2019, he issued his eponymous full-length debut, SYML. Along with a number of singles, he released the EP You Knew It Was Me in 2020 and returned the following year with the singles "True" and "Stay Close." A sixth EP, DIM, arrived in April 2021. A string of singles appeared in 2022, including the Charlotte Lawrence-assisted hit "You and I." ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi