The White Birch

Performer: Codeine
Artist: David Grubbs
Engineer: Mike McMackin; Brad Wood
Producer: Codeine; Mike McMackin
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Codeine: Stephen Immerwahr (vocals, bass); John Engle (guitar); Douglas Scharin (drums). Additional personnel: David Grubbs (guitar). Recorded at Idful Music, Chicago, Illinois; 3-Communications, Middletown, Connecticut; Mike and Rick's, Brooklyn, New York in August and December, 1993. Personnel: Stephen Immerwahr (vocals); David Grubbs, John Engle (guitar); Doug Scharin (drums). Recording information: 3-Communication, Middletown, CT; Chicago, IL; Idful Music Corp., Chicago, IL; Mike And Rick's, Brooklyn, NY. Photographer: Laura Larson. On THE WHITE BIRCH, Codeine's sensitive-guy, somnambulistic lo-fi aesthetic has been honed to a loose fluency. Unlike earlier efforts such as BARELY REAL and FRIGID STARS, there is less emphasis on grungy, distorted guitar tone, and greater evidence of the band's penchant for delicate atmospherics. Floating, impressionistic tunes such as "Loss Leader" and "Vacancy" lead off a set of dramatically down-tempo songs characterized by spare, spacious arrangements, and bassist Steve Immerwahr's understated, half-spoken vocals. While it's impossible to resist comparisons to Pavement (there are notable similarities between the two bands in style, approach and attitude), Codeine has created and mastered its own brand of dark, textured indie rock that, especially on tracks such as "Ides," often borders on inertia. The result is music perfect for sitting, couch-bound and misunderstood, in a darkened room. However, THE WHITE BIRCH's increased melodic factor, and greater attention to song craft, makes it one of the group's better offerings.

Option (10/94, pp.96-97) - "...Quiet and sad, THE WHITE BIRCH is as clean and spare as the name suggests..."

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