CODEINE - The White Birch LP & Bonus 7" Single (Vinyl, 1994, Sub Pop, Germany)

	£		21
	$		28

LIMITED EDITION WITH 'TRACING PAPER'/ VELLUM INSERT & BONUS 7" SINGLE:   'PICKUP SONG' b/w '3 ANGELS'

FORMAT: Vinyl LP,  33rpm & 7" Single, 45rpm
RECORD LABEL: Sub Pop
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Germany
RELEASE DATE: 1994
CATALOGUE NOs: sp 118/299 & GR 0124

(NOTE: I am now play-grading all my vinyl. I can't promise to play everything all the way through, but will be checking for any curving or warping and/or excessive surface noise - hiss, snap, crackles & pops. And if there are any dodgy looking areas with gouges, scratches, pit marks etc. I will double check that there is no skipping or sticking, and that playback is not adversely affected)

LP: Excellent
7": Excellent
OUTER SLEEVE: Excellent
INSERT: Excellent
(Plain paper inners)

POSTAGE: £3.00 UK. £4.00 EUROPE. £7.00 THE REST OF THE WORLD.

COMBINED POSTAGE:                         UK:               EACH ADDITIONAL LP/12" = £1.00
                                                           EUROPE:               EACH ADDITIONAL LP/12" = £2.00
                                                      TR of the W:              EACH ADDITIONAL LP/12" = £2.50

RECORDED/ TRACKED DELIVERY:              UK:             Add   £1.00
                                                                           Europe:            Add   £5.00
                                                                  TR of the W:            Add   £5.50

STORED OUT OF SUNLIGHT IN VERTICAL POSITION. FROM A PET, DAMP AND SMOKE FREE HOME.

ANY QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS FOR MORE DETAILED PHOTOS ETC, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME.

I TRY & GRADE ALL SLEEVES AND VINYL AS FAIRLY & ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE, BUT IF YOU FEEL I HAVE GRADED THIS RECORD INCORRECTLY, OR IF ANY OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS INCORRECT PLEASE TELL ME.

ALL VINYL WILL BE POSTED IN A GLASS CLEAR, VERY BEST QUALITY 450G PVC SLEEVE, IN A CARDBOARD RECORD MAILER, WITH CARDBOARD STIFFENERS, REMOVING ALL INNERS TO PREVENT SPLITTING TO THE SEAMS IN TRANSIT.
      
       Tracklisting
A1         Sea        
A2         Loss Leader        
A3         Vacancy        
A4         Kitchen Light        
A5         Washed Up    
   
B1         Tom        
B2         Ides        
B3         Wird        
B4         Smoking Room

LP Review (courtesy of Allmusic.com)

by Ned Raggett

The final Codeine release, The White Birch, finds the band stretching out more beyond its usual style here and there, while still pretty much sounding like it always has. It's not quite a case of "heard one, heard them all," but at points, it's hard to see how they would have continued without completely repeating themselves. There is a slight change in the lineup, with Douglas Scharin replacing Chris Brokaw, at that time fully involved with Come, on drums, while David Grubbs once again guests, playing guitar on "Tom" and "Wird." He's not fully noticeable on either track per se, but his playing doesn't take away anything from the overall mood or performance either. John Engle's own lead guitar work here often has a stronger, stentorian sense of playing than before, in part resulting from the greater sense of space in a number of songs. While there was a relative calm on moments of Frigid Stars, here there's even more of it -- it's not quite relaxed, but allows more stripped-down moments to come in along with the thicker roil of cuts like "Vacancy" and the searing, compressed snarl on "Washed Up." The opening cut "Sea" captures that well, especially given that Stephen Immerwahr's vocals are as lost and murky in the mix as they've ever been. Other moments betray what sounds like a Slint touch here and there, not surprising given the Louisville connection via Grubbs and others (indeed, Louisville as a whole is specifically thanked in the credits). Scharin, meanwhile, throws in a couple of extra fills and subtle touches along the way, though whether this results from what he brings to the band or just a change in style is not immediately apparent. Ending with the soft contemplation of "Smoking Room," White Birch sees out Codeine's career on a strong enough note.

Band Profile (courtesy of Allmusic.com)

by Stewart Mason

The early-'90s New York trio Codeine is one of the founders of the slowcore scene that includes groups like Bedhead, American Analog Set, and Low. Taking audible inspiration from the third Velvet Underground album and scene pioneers Galaxie 500, but adding a more aggressive tone and slowing the tempos down even further, Codeine sounded almost entirely unique at the time. However, their style was immediately adopted by a number of other new bands, some of which do the tense and glacial thing even better.

Codeine was formed in 1989 by bassist/singer Stephen Immerwahr, guitarist John Engle, and drummer Chris Brokaw. Their demo, a tortured version of the Pete Ham/Tom Evans classic "Without You" that stretches the four-minute song out to nine, got the band signed to Glitterhouse Records in Europe and Sub Pop in the U.S. the following year. Their debut album, Frigid Stars LP, was released by Glitterhouse in late 1990 and Sub Pop in the spring of 1991 to generally positive reviews.

A lengthy EP, Barely Real, came out in 1992. Although the record varies Codeine's sound a bit with piano by ex-Squirrel Bait member turned art-rocker David Grubbs (Codeine had toured Europe with Grubbs' instrumental group Bastro) and a noise guitar freak-out by Bitch Magnet leader Jon Fine, plus a cover of MX-80 Sound's "Promise of Love," Barely Real is basically a continuation of the style perfected on Frigid Stars LP.

Beginning in 1991, Brokaw was pulling double duty, playing drums in Codeine and guitar in Thalia Zedek's band Come. Brokaw finally left Codeine in late 1992 to devote his full energies to his other band. After an already planned U.S. tour went ahead with Brokaw's hastily selected temporary replacement, Antietam's Josh Madell, Engle and Immerwahr began auditioning for a permanent drummer who could match their agonizingly slow tempos. Douglas Scharin, a member of the Brooklyn chamber rock quartet Rex (who unlike Brokaw, managed to maintain his dual band memberships), was selected and the newly reconfigured trio spent a summer in Grubbs' hometown of Louisville, KY, tweaking old material for touring purposes and writing new songs.

A single produced by Grubbs, "Tom," was released in the fall of 1993, followed by the full-length The White Birch in April 1994. Slightly more melodic than the earlier albums, but just as languorously paced, The White Birch is probably the group's best record. After an extensive U.S. tour, the trio split amicably to work on other projects. Scharin returned to Rex, then later worked with the instrumental post-rock project H.I.M. and the harder-edged June of 44. Immerwahr started a new band, Raymond.

THANK YOU FOR L@@KING AND HAPPY BIDDING!!!!