Lync – These Are Not Fall Colors 2LP

Description

When the grunge explosion of the early 90s elevated Seattles flannel-clad misfits out of the divey clubs of downtown and into the mainstream, a new generation of restless artists filled the void left in the Pacific Northwests underground music scene. The under-21 crowd making music in the wake of Nevermind seemed even less enamored with the slick production values, classic rock nods, and testosterone-fueled moshing culture that came with the Zeitgeist, favoring their own kind of Revolution Summer-style pivot away from the popular sounds of the era towards a more emotionally nuanced, melodic, and inclusive style of punk. The Puget Sound trio Lync perfectly captured the spirit of that era, blending the passionate chaos of the DC and San Diego scenes with the rough-hewn DIY pop sensibilities of Olympias thriving indie community into one unified sound. Though they were only a band for two years, they helped define the next era of the Northwest underground, inspiring countless other artists and instigating the creation of beloved records from the region. After being out of print for over a decade, the bands sole LP These Are Not Fall Colors has been remastered and expanded into a 2xLP with the inclusion of Cant Tie Yeta compilation track from the albums recording sessioninto a deluxe edition availablecourtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records.

Originally released on K Records in the summer of 94 just a few months before the band called it quits, These Are Not Fall Colors is a boisterous collection of scrappy basement-show anthems played on duct-taped-together gear. Led by the off-kilter melodies of late singer/guitarist Sam Jayne and hammered into place by the driving bass of James Bertram and drum battery of David Schneider, the albums eleven songs channel that undefinable sound of the early 90s before descriptors like post-hardcore and emo became pejorative terms. Sure, you get a sense of the more sophisticated mid-tempo punk approach on songs like B and Silverspoon Glasses, and maybe catch wind of wistful songwriting on Pennies to Save and Cue Cards, but Lync seemed to cull their ideas from whatever bits of inspiration they could find in the gray gloom and geographic isolation of western Washington, absorbing it all and churning it together into a style uniquely their own.