Dessau＜Colored Vinyl＞

Though their initial lifespan only lasted a few years, a lot changed for archetypal slowcore band Codeine between the time of their 1990 debut, Frigid Stars LP, and their 1994 swan song, The White Birch. In June of 1992, the band began sessions intended to yield a second LP, but for various reasons, those sessions were shelved. Original drummer Chris Brokaw left the group shortly thereafter to focus on playing with his other band, Come, and future June of 44 drummer Doug Scharin took his place. The new lineup (along with Gastr del Sols David Grubbs) completed second album The White Birch just before Codeine disbanded in 1994, creating a masterpiece of metered, wintery melancholia that influenced generations of post-rock and slow-motion indie sounds that followed. Dessau returns to those abandoned sessions from 1992, when Brokaw was still drumming for the band and they were trying to piece together a second record. Half of Dessaus eight tracks were eventually re-recorded for The White Birch, and these versions are significantly more forceful than the precise and dynamic final versions. Compared side by side, Dessau versions of "Sea" and "Tom" feel more distorted and aggressive than their White Birch counterparts -- by no means fast but considerably more rushed and nervy than the exceptionally restrained album versions. With an emphasis on vocalist/bassist Stephen Immerwahrs pained yelps and a tempo that wants to keep pushing just a little bit faster, the Dessau version of "Wird" sounds almost punk by Codeine standards. Two of the remaining songs, "Jr." and "Realize," showed up in different forms on the bands 1992 EP, Barely Real, and the final songs, "Something New" and "I Wonder," are gentler entries in the bands discography. The spare acoustic guitars of "I Wonder" have a similar somber twang to "Broken Hearted Wine," another Codeine rarity that shows a slightly different side than their slow-drip heaviness. Dessau gets even deeper in uncovering a lost transitional phase in Codeines evolution and is an interesting companion piece to their final album. It might not be a great entry point for those new to their sound but will be essential listening for anyone already invested in the band or in how their work guided the trajectory of slowcore on the whole. ~ Fred Thomas