Lync - These Are Not Fall Colors 2xLP - 3 Versions

 

Suicide Squeeze (2023, Reissue)

After way too many years, Lync's flawless 1994 album, These Are Not Fall Colors has finally been reissued.  This is an album that's been out of print for far too long and I'm really happy that others have a chance to pick it up.  I've had the original pressing for a long time, but that didn't stop me from going variant hunting and picking up all of the versions available as part of the first pressing.  Even though I try really hard not to buy multiple copies of the same record these days, this is an album that's just so important to me.  I couldn't resist.

I first heard of Lync because Sam Jayne and James Bertram were both featured on the Beck album, One Foot in the Grave.  That was a monumentally influential album for me, and I used it as a jumping off point to find a lot of new music back in 1994.  Lync was one of those first bands that I got into.  From the moment I heard album opener "b," I was obsessed with this band.  The way the album channels a youthful, energetic take on Pacific Northwestern indie rock was so impactful.  It's an album that's been in constant rotation for me for nearly 30 years now and I love every second of it just as passionately now as I did back then.

Regarding the reissue, there are three main versions of the first pressing.  Blue & Yellow split color vinyl (Lync band variant), Green, Blue & Purple twist vinyl (Suicide Squeeze label variant) and Red in Orange vinyl (retail variant).  The album is split into a double LP at 45rpm, with the fourth side being a blank.  There's one bonus track, "Can't Tie Yet," though that was already available on the Remembering the Fireballs singles compilation.

While this version of the LP sounds great, the best the album has ever sounded, I'm still not really sure it needed such an expansive reissue.  I know that 45rpm is the audiophiles choice for speed and sound fidelity, but this album is something of a low-fi masterpiece.  I'm not really sure if it benefits that much from being at 45 instead of 33.  Especially since one of the album sides ends up being blank.  

My personal opinion is that this could have been a single LP at 33rpm and there would be very little difference.  It would have been a bit cheaper, taken up less vinyl and would cut out a record swap while listening.  I'm sure they had a reason for doing this way, and I won't argue with how great it sounds, I just can't help but think it could have been released a bit differently and been just as impactful.  Then again, I'm just a jerk with a website, so what do I know?

Lync - These Are Not Fall Colors:
https://lync1994.bandcamp.com/album/these-are-not-fall-colors-2