''The White Birch'' is the second and final

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

band

Codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...

. Released in April 1994, the album is considered by many to be the band's best album and a clear influence on Low, among other bands.Codeine , AllMusic
/ref>

Background

On their debut album ''

Frigid Stars LP ''Frigid Stars LP'' is the debut album by American indie rock band Codeine. It was released in August 1990 on Glitterhouse in Europe and in Spring 1991 on Sub Pop in the US. The album was released to generally positive reviews and is regarded ...

'' and the follow-on EP ''

Barely Real ''Barely Real'' is the 1992 extended play (EP) by the American indie rock band Codeine. After releasing their previous album ''Frigid Stars LP'' in 1990, the group accepted an invitation from the quartet Bastro to tour in Europe in 1991. Followin ...

'', Codeine's sound was characterised by agonizingly slow tempos and a stripped-down aesthetic, their songs rarely venturing beyond the combination of a sharp, robust rhythm section underlying crisply ringing guitars. ''The White Birch'' introduced more melodic elements and developed an aesthetic that shifted sharply between clean and heavily distorted guitars in a way that few bands such as

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

had previously explored. Along with

's 1991 album ''

Spiderland ''Spiderland'' is the second and final studio album by the American rock band Slint. It contains six songs played over 40 minutes, and was released by Touch and Go Records on March 27, 1991. Slint's lineup at the time of recording comprised ...

'', ''The White Birch'' would prove to be a huge influence on bands such as

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogw ...

and

Shipping News Shipping News was an American post-rock/ post-hardcore band. The group formed in the fall of 1996 when members Jason Noble and Jeff Mueller, who were both in Rodan, collaborated to create music for the Chicago-based syndicated National Publi ...

. Following an extensive US tour, the band split. Scharin returned to Rex, before working with HiM and

June of 44 June of 44 is an American rock band which was formed in 1994 from ex-members of Rodan, Lungfish, Rex, and Hoover. The band's name refers to the period during which writers Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1 ...

. Immerwahr formed a new band, Raymond.

Songs

An alternative version of "Ides" was released as a 7-inch split single with

The Coctails The Coctails were a musical group from Chicago, who formed while its members were attending the Kansas City Art Institute. The band was active from about 1988 to 1995, with reunions in 2000 as the last band to play on stage at Lounge Ax before th ...

Simple Machines A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refer ...

in 1993. "Tom" was released as a 7-inch single on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

in 1993, backed with "Something New".Tom 7-inch
/ref> "Wird" is a full-band version of "W.", which previously appeared as a piano piece on ''

''.

Reception

In a contemporary review, '' Select'' stated that "As Codeine transplant rock from the nightclub to the monastery, they're producing something as disconsolate yet numbingly beautiful as a gang of monks laying down some plainsong remixes of American Music Club's greatest hits. It's a strategy that has more to do with beats per millennium than minute, but this a trance music nonetheless."

Track listing

Personnel

*John Engle - guitar * Stephen Immerwahr - bass, vocals *

Doug Scharin Douglas Arthur Scharin is an American drummer and percussionist. He has served as a member of a multitude of bands, including Codeine, Rex, HiM, Enablers, June of 44, Loftus and Mice Parade. He currently resides in San Diego, California. ...

- drums *

David Grubbs David Grubbs (born September 21, 1967) is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale ...

- guitar on "Tom" and "Wird"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White Birch, The Codeine (band) albums 1994 albums Sub Pop albums