Review Summary: another depressing seattle band's debut
Seattle, Washington. Home to some of the most hallowed bands in music history including Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and Sunny Day Real Estate. The city is also known as one of the most rainy and dreary places in America, even though it actually doesn't get that much rainfall in comparison to other major U.S. cities, ironically enough. Anywho, Lync's debut and only album,
These Are Not Fall Colors, fits the Seattle stereotype to a tee. Muddy guitars, lo-fi sonics, and desolate, harsh lyrics show that Lync aren't beating around the bush in regards to what they're shooting far on this record.
Not like it's inaccessible anyway. On albums such as these, where the atmosphere aimed for is despondent and somber, a strong sense of melody makes Lync's style emphatic but not utterly joyless. "Pennies To Save" is a great example, with driven guitar and basslines forcefully creating a tense mood until chaos reigns and frontman Sam Jayne is spilling his guts out by way of vocal discord. "Angelfood Fodder and Vitamins" condenses the claustrophobia found on most of
These Are Not Fall Colors into a succinct yet powerful blast that feels less like an interlude and more like a punch to the gut. It's impressive that despite being pigeonholed into a genre that's typically categorized by it's lack of ambition and scope, Lync's post-hardcore roots don't hold them back in terms of crafting nuanced yet aggressive music.
But that's not to say that Lync couldn't deviate either. "Perfect Shot" is practically Pavement-esque in it's execution, except instead of the cool kids smoking cigarettes and sneering at passerbys, they're moshing and crowd-surfing. The lyrics of the track are also vague and obscured, with the only lines being "Sometimes / It's not good / No it's not there / Because you tend to relax / Doesn't seem that way." This is an interesting contrast between the sparse lyricism and the cacophony of noise that's propelled at a blistering pace. Most of Lync's sentiments on
These Are Not Fall Colors don't really add to the downcast aura and even though Jayne's gloomy messages portray youth in a melancholy light, it's wholly overshadowed by the instrumentals on each song. Nevertheless, what they lack in subtlety Lync make up with pure exhilaration.
1994, retrospectively, is one of music's pivotal years. Kurt Cobain, Generation X's poster boy and beloved icon across the Earth, was lost to heroin addiction, and Weezer's first S/T brought back power pop to the mainstream in a delightful fashion. But to a select few, Lync's debut perfectly summed up the growing musical climate. Its dark yet spirited ambiance and skillful technical aspects make it a prime candidate for describing the indie rock of the future, i.e. Modest Mouse, the Promise Ring, and other fan favorite bands.
These Are Not Fall Colors is an underlooked LP that warrants merit 20 years after its release.
