Come

Led by vocalist, guitarist, and composer Thalia Zedek, Come forged an unmistakable blend of blues, post-punk, and indie rock whose brooding, clashing sound carried both force and resonance. Zedek’s guitar buzzed and sliced as it climbed and plunged above the tight, scattered pulse of the rhythm section, while her singing delivered a raw, instinctive wail whose skillful handling of volume and intensity lent nuance and contour to the demanding emotional terrain mapped in her words. The group announced itself boldly with the 1992 release Eleven : Eleven, earned widespread critical acclaim for 1994’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell—commonly viewed as their finest work—and, on 1996’s Near Life Experience, reshaped their approach after the departure of the original rhythm section.

Thalia Zedek, born in Washington, D.C. in 1961, already possessed a strong track record in underground rock circles when she assembled Come in 1990. An outspoken figure who spoke candidly about recovering from heroin addiction and about her queer identity, Zedek began performing in the late ’70s after moving to Boston; prior to Come she had played with White Women and Dangerous Birds and then launched her own gritty post-punk outfit, Uzi. That band released a lone six-song EP on Matador before dissolving abruptly; afterward she joined a pre-fame incarnation of White Zombie on guitar and relocated to New York City to accommodate their demanding itinerary.

In 1990 Zedek left White Zombie, returned to Boston, and began seeking collaborators for a fresh venture. Guitarist Chris Brokaw (then the drummer for the slowcore outfit Codeine), bassist Sean O’Brien (formerly of the Kilkenny Cats), and drummer Arthur Johnson (ex-Bar-B-Q Killers) had recently formed a band that had just lost its singer and guitarist; they invited Zedek to fill the role. Come devoted their initial year to collective improvisation and jamming before cutting the single “Car” for Sub Pop, which quickly positioned them among the most discussed new acts in indie rock. Matador Records signed the group, and in roughly ten days they tracked the atmospheric 1992 debut Eleven : Eleven, which drew enthusiastic notices from the indie press while earning endorsements from Bob Mould, J. Mascis, and Kurt Cobain.

Come’s second album, 1994’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, attracted even more favorable coverage than its predecessor. Former Dream Syndicate frontman Steve Wynn expressed his regard by enlisting the band as his backing unit for the 1996 album Melting in the Dark. That same year Come issued their third LP, Near Life Experience, though Sean O’Brien and Arthur Johnson had already exited; the sessions therefore featured two separate rhythm sections—Bundy K. Brown of Tortoise and Mac McNeilly of the Jesus Lizard on half the tracks, and Tara Jane O’Neil (of Rodan and the Sonora Pine) on bass alongside Kevin Coultas (another Rodan veteran) on drums for the remainder.

After touring in support of Near Life Experience—including opening dates for Sugar, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth—Come commenced work on their fourth album, the 66-minute 1998 release Gently, Down the Stream, with Zedek and Brokaw now joined by bassist Winson Bramen and drummer Daniel Coughlin. Once the touring cycle for that record concluded, Zedek and Brokaw chose to place the group on hiatus. A full reunion never materialized, although the pair stayed on friendly terms and Come performed occasional shows in the 2000s and 2010s. Brokaw subsequently pursued a solo career and collaborated with the Lemonheads, Consonant, and the New Year, while Zedek recorded and toured with the Thalia Zedek Band and the experimental trio E. In 2021 Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was reissued in an expanded edition that appended ten demos, single sides, and previously unreleased tracks to the original ten-song album.