Results, not Answers

When you think of the music to have emerged from Seattle, grunge and Sub Pop are probably the first things that come to mind. But Seattle was already home to a vibrant alternative music scene back in the 1970s.

One of the most prominent synthesizer acts of the period was the trio Young Scientist. Influenced by the likes of Cluster, Harmonia, and Tangerine Dream, they released their music exclusively on cassette. Bureau B is delighted to present their superb debut album from 1979, the hypnotic-meditative-cyclical Results, Not Answers on CD and vinyl for the very first time!

Youth Scientist (Marc Barreca, James Husted, and Roland Barker) released four cassettes as 1979 blazed a trail into the 1980s, capturing the electric excitement of their live shows, unwriting the rules with no less fervor than their punk rock neighbors. Lots of layers of sound. Lots of tape loops added to the synth sounds before samplers were really a thing. Sound worlds for people to be taken to for a while. All three members of Youth Scientist played synthesizers.

The Results, Not Answers album presents Youth Scientist in full flow through four tracks, forty minutes of hypnotic and/or rhythmic soundscapes. Although the band admits that they did not pay much attention to the recording process itself, the selections on Results, Not Answers are crystal clear and have effortlessly stood the test of time.

Brainless ripples with tension through its fifteen and a half minutes, Eastern Clouds swirls with sitars before we loop through Music For Feet to the meditative, spiritualized patterns of Omega. Results, Not Answers shines a light on Seattle at an incredibly creative juncture in the city's musical history.