The early 90s weren't all Teen Spirit and Enter Sandman, no ma'am... Over in the Big Apple, one band was keeping things slower and sadder than anyone had previously thought scientifically possible, and that was Codeine. As hazy and gaze-y as their name might suggest, the trio all but invented the slowcore movement, influencing the likes of Low and Mogwai, but kept things arguably more experimental than their peers. After too long in the wilderness, those trusty folk at Numero are rescuing and reissuing their 1990 debut Frigid Stars, the devastating 1992 EP Barely Real, and the hugely influential final album The White Birch from 1994. - Flying Out
The drowsiest and earliest inklings of the slowcore movement can be traced to Codeine’s 1991 debut. Combining the Louisville scene’s relaxed tempo with doom metal’s distorted slurry, the album is a depressing masterpiece of hushed vocals, noisy guitar, and punishing drums.
Remastered from the original analog tapes and recreated in painstaking detail, Frigid Stars LP is the NYC trio’s fuzziest and most affecting work.
Tracklisting:
1. D
2. Gravel Bed
3. Pickup Song
4. New Year’s
5. Second Chance
6. Cave-In
7. Cigarette Machine
8. Old Things