The White Birch

The White Birch is the second and final album by the New York City band Codeine. 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.[2]

This article is about the 1994 album by Codeine. For the Norwegian musical group, see The White Birch (band).

The White Birch
Studio album by Codeine
Released	April 4, 1994[1]
Recorded	August and December 1993
Studio	Idful Music (Chicago) 3-Communications (Middletown) Mike and Rick's (Brooklyn)
Genre	Indie rock, slowcore/sadcore
Length	43:11
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	Codeine, Mike McMackin
Codeine chronology
Barely Real (1992) The White Birch (1994)

Background

On their debut album Frigid Stars LP and the follow-on EP Barely Real, Codeine's sound was characterised by agonizingly slow tempos and a stripped-down aesthetic,[2] 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 had previously explored. Along with Slint's 1991 album Spiderland, The White Birch would prove to be a huge influence on bands such as Mogwai and Shipping News.

Following an extensive US tour, the band split. Scharin returned to Rex, before working with HiM and June of 44. Immerwahr formed a new band, Raymond.

Songs

An alternative version of "Ides" was released as a 7" split single with The Coctails on Simple Machines in 1993.[3] "Tom" was released as a 7" single on Sub Pop in 1993, backed with "Something New".[4] "Wird" is a full-band version of "W.", which previously appeared as a piano piece on Barely Real.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	(8.4/10)[5]
Select	(3/5)[6]
Spin	(9/10)[7]

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."[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Codeine[1].

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sea"	7:21
2.	"Loss Leader"	4:18
3.	"Vacancy"	3:37
4.	"Kitchen Light"	3:36
5.	"Washed Up"	4:40
6.	"Tom"	5:02
7.	"Ides"	5:07
8.	"Wird"	6:05
9.	"Smoking Room"	3:18

Personnel

• John Engle - guitar
• Stephen Immerwahr - bass, vocals
• Doug Scharin - drums
• David Grubbs - guitar on "Tom" and "Wird"

References

1. Ned Raggett. "Review: The White Birch". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
2. Codeine | AllMusic
3. Codeine / The Coctails split 7"
4. Tom 7"
6. Wilkinson, Ron (June 1994). "New Albums". Select. p. 85.
7. Powell, Mike (May 2012). "Reissues". Spin. Vol. 28 no. 3. p. 90. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved April 23, 2016.