Lync’s music has only grown better with time. Briefly active in the early ‘90s, the Olympia, Washington act operated adjacent to the storied K Records scene. Over the years, their hard-to-find work has amassed a cult following and inspired countless young bands in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

On October 20, 2023, Suicide Squeeze will reissue a deluxe edition of Lync’s sole album, These Are Not Fall Colors, as a double LP. This energy rings especially strong on lead single “Pennies To Save,” which is scrappy and full of verve. “Treasure chest has power to change/But your life gets too complicated,” late singer Sam Jayne cryptically belts atop fuzzed-out grunge riffing. It’s a captivating relic from a bygone era of tattered flannels and rough-hewn basement jam sessions.

Lync perfectly captured the spirit of that era, blending the passionate chaos of the DC and San Diego scenes with their brand of indie pop from Olympia’s thriving indie community. 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 band’s sole LP These Are Not Fall Colors has been remastered and expanded into a 2xLP with the inclusion of “Can’t Tie Yet”—a compilation track from the album’s recording session—into a deluxe edition available courtesy 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 album’s 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.

Despite Lync’s short existence, modest aspirations, and DIY approach, their work had a ripple effect. Jayne and Bertram appeared on Beck’s One Foot in the Grave album. Jayne would go on to make music under the moniker of Love As Laughter. Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch was so enamored by the album that he enlisted Bertram and Schneider to serve as his rhythm section on the There’s Nothing Wrong with Love tour. These Are Not Fall Colors engineer Phil Ek would go on to help record and produce records by Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, and The Shins. Early bassist Isaac Brock and These Are Not Fall Colors album art contributor Jeremiah Green (RIP) would go on to form Modest Mouse. Bertram and Green would also go on to form the revered indie rock group Red Stars Theory.

The deluxe edition of These Are Not Fall Colors comes pressed on 180g vinyl and packaged in a gatefold cover with printed inner sleeves and expanded artwork by Jesse LeDoux. The 2xLP also features an 18×24 poster with extensive liner notes by Brian Cook. Altogether, this new version of These Are Not Fall Colors not only brings this celebrated classic back into analog libraries of old fans, it also provides new context and appreciation for Lync’s ongoing impact on both a local and international level.

Lync
These Are Not Fall Colors
Tracklisting
Suicide Squeez Records

1. B
2. Perfect Shot
3. Silverspoon Glasses
4. Pennies to Save
5. Clay Fighter
6. Cue Cards
7. Angelfood Fodder & Vitamins
8. Heroes & Heroines
9. Turtle
10. Uberrima Fides
11. Can’t Tie Yet

Pre-order These Are Not Fall Colors by Lync HERE