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Sounds Like: The four-track basement tapes of an introverted valedictorian.
For Fans Of: Regina Spektor, Judee Sill, Amber Coffman.
If you stay as busy as Lynnae Gryffin, you're probably going to have to compartmentalize a bit.
Already the author of a solo album, with a résumé that includes a two-year tenure in local indie fuzz-poppers Summer Cannibals, Gryffin also works a full-time tech gig at Portland State University in an effort to fund her post-baccalaureate studies in mathematics. In 2011, she wrote and recorded Abigail—a dense, ambitious collection focusing on a character whose story is revealed impressionistically in movements that are more like chapters of a novel than songs—as a cathartic distraction from her nonmusical pursuits.
"Maybe it's OK to call it therapeutic," she says. "I think it's more just survival—in a less desperate sort of way."
For her forthcoming Information EP, though, Gryffin implemented a more casual, social environment among a lineup of musician friends whose studio savvy could facilitate the sounds she was hearing in her head. Adam Lee of Jackpot Studios was a crucial participant, who Gryffin now credits with certain sonic signatures that define the EP.
"It was a very peer-based relationship," she says. "His ears are all over this record."
On "Norah's Song," Gryffin employed poet and friend Norah Hoover to muse on a theme inspired by an Anne Sexton poem, producing several versions of the track before deciding on the ethereal, vocoder-heavy version that serves as the EP's centerpiece. The bucolic atmosphere established by the swirling, breezy echoes create a gorgeous platform for Gryffin's increasingly manipulated vocals, juxtaposing her sincere tone with cold, electronic distortion. It culminates in a lonely aesthetic that's a distant cry from the slinky alt-rock numbers that open Information. It's a daunting, impressive collection from someone so devoid of free time.
"It's nice to feel a little freedom," Gryffin says. "I like to make this part of my life the fun part. I can't have another job. I have too many jobs."
SEE IT: Lynnae Gryffin plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Sheers, on Monday, Sept. 19. 9 pm. Free. 21+.
Willamette Week