Remembering The Fireballs Pt. 8

They Say...

Review by Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

While Lync may have had only the one album proper, that plus their series of singles and strong live shows were more than enough to make them legends of early-'90s underground rock. The resultant interest even after the band broke up made possible the release of Remembering the Fireballs, which covers not merely single and compilation appearances but a slew of otherwise unreleased tracks. Drawn from three separate studio sessions, along with a live cut taken from a show at Berkeley's famed Gilman venue, the hour-long collection isn't merely something for obsessive fans, but has plenty of high points for the adventurous listener. More than once there's a suggestion of the influence of Slint and other Louisville acts transferred to the Pacific coast -- melancholic but not completely sad music, with an emphasis on sparer arrangements played with careful deliberation that can build into louder climaxes. Other cuts are more conventional in comparison, such as the focused rock charge of "Pathetic," but there's no attempt to follow grunge trends or the like here. Lync would rather find its own way, whether it's the tempo shifting experiment of "Hands and Knees" or the almost jaunty "MHZ," one of the band's best numbers, and an understandable single. Sam Jayne's sweetly wounded voice on "Pigeons," even when things get a bit noisier, captures much of what made the band special -- long before emo became a dull-as-dishwater buzzword, there's a sense of real emotion here, vocal and music working in creative tandem. "Two Feet in Front," which deservedly appeared on the band's only single for the K label, is particularly marvelous, shouted backing vocals adding a bit of call-and-response dynamic, even while Jayne's guitar creates a simple but beautiful serene melody over the rhythm.