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Frigid Stars

Codeine - Frigid Stars Audio CD

A fair review of the Codeine "Frigid Stars" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Codeine reviews here, or go back to the Codeine tabs.

Band: Codeine
Title: Frigid Stars
Rating:

Release Date: 1994-01-01
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: D 2: Gravel Bed 3: Pickup Song 4: New Year's 5: Second Chance 6: Cave In 7: Cigarette Machine 8: Old Things 9: 3 Angels 10: Pea

Hollow repetitions
The band's attempt at entrancing through underwhelming, heavily-and-hardly-strung chord changes and depressing vocalizations almost always come across simply as a redundant burden rather then a pleasure. 2 1/2

Pretty unnecessary for anyone but the most devoted to all things "slow-core"- they sound similar to a second rate Idaho, with more distortion used to drown out less melody. Rarely do these limitedly depressing songwriting elements come together as the track "3 Angels" does, making the disc hard to recommend.

FLAGELACION BELLA
Por lo anterior, quiz� no diga nada distinto; como sea, ah� les va mi opini�n: Frigid Stars LP es uno de los discos m�s hermosos y crudos que mi alma ha escuchado, el cual se convierte luego de oirlo m�s de diez veces, en la compa��a perfecta cuando est�s en el fondo de tus transtornos de personalidad y desordenes afectivos. Antes que otra cosa, p�senme los tel�fonos de los otros reviewers, sentimos de igual manera. Es la bala inofensiva que te faltaba para darte el tiro de gracia y mandar todo al demonio, para morir en vida sin dejar de respirar, para sufrir de a madres. Este disco est� muy relacionado adem�s, a aquellos momentos en que est�s hasta las manitas, en la soledad, con pensamientos hiperrevolucionados sobre veinte temas a la vez y buscas enfocarte en uno para apagar la ansiedad y tirarte estoicamente a la tristeza y la a�oranza, que tanto te gustan, lo desees o no, hasta quedarte dormido. Si con lo que escrib� te has identificado, c�mpralo y dr�gate con el; si piensas que estoy exagerando, que lo que necesito es un valium, un lexotan o unas gotas de rivotril, que estoy loco o que soy el rey del drama, no lo compres y busca otras opciones. Codeine llega al fondo del abismo, del que quiz� no quieras salir. .

slow on the downtake
Glad to see it has such a high rating here, but sad to see how FEW people have written it up. Man what an album. I first heard Frigid Stars LP via my roommate. Every night for several days when he went to sleep I would hear this album wafting down the hallway; muffled somewhat but effective and intriguing. Every night as I strained to hear its strains I would remind myself: "gotta ask Alfie what that is he's playing of an evening. . . " but I forgot time and again. I finally remembered to get to the bottom of it and he showed me the record, loaned it to me. Fifteen minutes later I was on my way to score a copy. And then that copy stayed in my player for days and then weeks and more. For about two YEARS I would listen to Frigid Stars over and over. Nothing else hit the spot. I would occasionally move away from it and onto other new music I would pick up, etc. but then soon I would revert back to this album and play it more or less exclusively for a few weeks. There are very few albums I have listened to as many times. I turned many people onto this. . . stellar recording. Tracks from it were magnetically sucked onto a bajillion mix tapes. I cannot say what it is/was about Frigid Stars that struck me as hard as it did. I don't feel that it is the greatest album ever, nor would I even necessarily put it in my top 50, but at the time it certainly connected with me on many levels. I was fairly young. Relatively gloomy. Too, I had never really heard anything like it before. (And it hasn't really been done as well since anyway. . . )Which brings me to a point: I think Codeine are truly underheralded. One of those "hugely influential bands" that quietly makes an impact through other bands' use of aspects of their style but only gets their proper recognition well after they've ceased to be. I hear Codeine-esque qualities in many bands who have come since that mine similar musical territory. Yet I rarely hear their name mentioned. They had something special though. I saw them once on a live triple bill with The Grifters outta Memphis and The Flaming Lips. Let me tell you, I've seen a lllllllot of rockinroll shows and this was up there in the top ten. Class act all 'round. I am older now. I probably haven't listed to Codeine in 6-8 years. I don't know that I'd find them rewarding now as much as they meant to me then. I'll have to pull some out and give 'em a spin here in a while. Beyond Frigid Stars, Codeine released a handful of stray tracks on singles, compilation appearances, etc. plus one ep and a final lp. They are overdue the reissue treatment. They deserve another look because the star may have been cold a long time, but everyone reading this will be long dead before it has gone completely out.

Single Greatest DEPRESSED album of all time
This album tore through me on first listen and I ROCKED to it, but it was not your typical rocking, it was pure catharsis, so I bought it, then I listened to it again and again and truly realized what a sad, bleak, hopeless, tortured, almost-unbearably painful, BEAUTIFUL LP of music this album is. If you like music for the emotions stirred, for the levels of rage, or joy or hate or energy or peace that music can give you, this is the , it is hard to say pinnacle, more like the low-point of depression in music. The music is spare, yet lush and thick and heavy, it is like watching icebergs breakup in slow motion sometimes, yet building such tension that you cannot help but be moved byt the RUSH of it all. It is truly for those who "enjoy" exploring the depths and pinnacles opf what music can draw out of you, because this is not an emotionally easy listen.

Slow, yes, but not truly cold
It's not quite either. The previous reviewers have called Frigid Stars either the darkest or slowest albums they've heard. Slow, lethargic rhythms are associated with darkness and depression, but this isn't necessarily a tragic album and it does pick up the pace in places.

Frigid Stars works as a singular piece - heck, they've appended an "LP" moniker to the album title - as dynamic shifts mark the progressions instead of distinctive tracks. It all works rather convincingly and makes for some good pre-Radiohead era mood music. Typical indie-style guitar dominates and is backed by a warmish, plowing rhythm section. The band look like a bunch of geeks in the liner notes, but in a music-is-salvation-and-sustenance sort of way.

This album recalls images of Slint's Spiderland. The spoken vocals, the dynamics, the moods, the guitar sounds. It's the closest well-recognized comparison I can think of, although Slint's effort has a bit more emotional depth and really can't be considered slowcore. Interestingly enough, Frigid Stars and Spiderland were recorded within a month of each other, during Summer/Fall 1990. The indie/underground volcanic bubble was on the verge of erupting. Galaxie 500 sounds a bit too popish and perhaps amateur to be compared with Codeine. Galaxie 500 was neither truly slow nor core, but Codeine is certainly slowcore.

If you don't have Slint's Spiderland, get it first and if you like it, come back here.

You can see a complete list of all Codeine discography, or go back to the Codeine tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.