Unknown Component’s “The Infinite Definitive”
Unknown Component is a one-man band of the Iowa City native Keith Lynch, who recently moved to Ames. Lynch is a tireless and prolific artist who has self-released a number of albums. He plays all the instruments on all the albums, producing incredibly rich and layered creations. Despite being a one-man band, each song has the energy and instrumentation of a full rock band.
His most recent album, “The Infinite Definitive,” is a collection of excellent songs that surround you in a thick array of spaced-out guitar effects and keep you hooked by their strong melodies. Lynch can really write a song, each track on the album is sturdy, rounded-out and complete.
The song “A Heavy Heart or An Empty Stomach” expertly builds a wall of guitar sounds that grow into the choruses, feeling dark and heavy. Then Keith smoothly cuts back as the song turns around into the verse again. The effect is a subtle and sensual dynamic shift that makes the track pop out.
“Every Measure and Space” shows off Lynch’s control and range as a guitarist. Like the song’s title suggests, the tones have the soothing and psychedelic feel of a song you might you hear on the great NPR show “Hearts of Space.” Interestingly, Keith creates the rhythm of the song from the guitar tracks alone, adding up to a swooning and hypnotic experience.
The record’s closing track “Electric Dissolution” is a moody piano-based tune with the warm string sound of synth to provide a dream-like feel. I love it when Keith breaks his voice off into two overlapping vocal tracks for a call-and-response effect that takes the song up a notch and finishes the album on a strong note.
Overall, this is a great and distinctive record, a mini-world within your CD player. We are lucky to have Unknown Component living here in Ames.
“The Infinite Definitive” is available as a pay-what-you-want download on Unknown Component’s website, unknowncomponent.com.
By Nate Logsdon
1/3/12