CODEINE レコード& CD

Review: Numero Group have embarked on a reissues bundle of slowcore pioneer band Codeine's first and last albums, as well as an intermediary EP. 'Frigid Stars' is the former, and made for a remarkable debut album, epitomizing the late-80s-to-early-90s sound that still continues to influence trailblazers in the genre to this day, from Deathcrash to Bardo Pond. Codeine laid it bare before its name was coined: proto-slowcore is heavy, but not aggressive; quiet, but not silent; its vocals are hushed but present, perhaps reflecting the mood of doom that had set upon the local music scene in New York, where the band originate from. Thematically, the LP deals with angsty themes from loss to despair, with choice cuts like 'When I See The Sun' lumbering through ultra-reverb, gothic melodic lulls and guitarry plods to the death.