Lynch Misses Chance to Communicate with Listeners

By Broadside Correspondent Dylan Hares

One-man band Keith Lynch a.k.a. Unknown Component from Iowa City, Iowa, has been turning out albums almost once a year since 2002. Lynch plays live shows and has six albums out on iTunes but despite all of his efforts, he seems to be just that: unknown. With not a single iTunes review and seemingly few downloads, I daresay no one even really knows he exists in the music world.

And that, I must stress, is a shame. Prior to my listening of Unknown Component’s new album “In Direct Communication,” I knew that the band had been compared to Bob Dylan, Radiohead and U2, which consequently led me to believe the album would be garbage. Rhetoric aside, Keith Lynch really surprised me. All of the songs are very simple. Simple drums, simple guitar, simple bass, simple keys, and all under simple vocals that tend to have very profound messages.

The first track, “Into the Sun,” made me think of Coldplay, an influence Lynch claims he draws from. The setup and sound of the song reminded me a lot of a gritty post-grunge sound that brings me back to Fuel and Tool or early Green Day. This is a common musical theme that stays constant throughout the whole album. His vocals remind me most of Bret Scallions from Fuel. Lynch could also be compared to a less morose Kurt Cobain because of the obvious lack of vocal ability but effective use of what he has to really make that fact purely moot.

Considering Unknown Component is a one-man band, all of the recordings are really well put-together. “Between Guilt and Relief” is a moody song featuring elegant keyboard riffs and vocals that are heavily masked by reverb. The song seems like it is what the offspring of Pink Floyd and Coldplay would sound like. In keeping with the simplicity of the sound, the entire album is pretty mellow. Some songs like “Somewhere a Light has Gone Out,”

“Brought up to be Put Down,” and “On Your Mind,” sound spacey to the point of having a hallucinogenic effect. I definitely do not encourage drugs, but I suppose if you did them then you would like to listen to this CD in conjunction with the aforementioned activities.

Overall I think Unknown Component is turning out to be highly underrated—or at the very least inappropriately under-publicized. If you like smooth and mellow post-grunge or if any of the aforementioned descriptions sound good—or even if you want to try something new—you should definitely check this album out.