UnknownComponent

Unknown Component: In Direct Communication
*** out of *****

The title of Iowa City’s Unknown Component’s latest full-length, In Direct Communication, is a fitting one. And not just because with the numerous shows coming up to support the album, I’m sure listeners could communicate as directly as possible with one-man-band Keith Lynch as they wished, either. It’s more the spirit in which the record was recorded: Unknown Component is relatively frills-free indie rock, and it works when paired with Lynch’s simple, yet poetic lyrics.

The 10-track CD is, to put it frankly, mostly a downer, with such lines as “Time isn’t ours / it’s extinguishing the stars / in a race to erase the place we think we are” providing one of the choruses. But of course, if happiness were the only criterion for quality, Elliott Smith wouldn’t have gotten very far – an artist who Unknown Component recalls heavily at times, both with unusual, rasping voices.

Where the pairing diverges is in Communication’s fondness for multitracking numerous effects of reverb and guitar sounds atop the vocals. When an artist such as Smith or a more contemporary singer/songwriter type à la Josh Radin goes for a hushed, intimate vibe, Lynch attempts to recreate the experience of a live show all on his own. Admirable, to be sure, and even more impressive when taking into account that the entirety of the album was recorded alone – but it ends up sounding a bit too much like a low-rate recording of a live show on some tracks.

Lynch’s sense of melody is solid, however, proving itself on such tracks as “Never Ceases To Remain Unchanged” and “It’s A Fine Line.” It makes a listener curious to see what the real deal would be like, that’s for sure.

Anna’s Picks: “Into The Sun,” “Retrospectively Speaking”

- by Anna Wiegenstein