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Codeine

Musical Group
Forfans of slowcore, indie rock of the 1990s, and listeners into restrained dynamics, melancholy textures, and minimalist guitar music.
6 Reviews 14 Definitions 15 Charts
Post rock Alternative Slowcore

The Profile

Codeine are an American slowcore band formed in New York in 1989 by Stephen Immerwahr (vocals/bass), John Engle (guitar), and Chris Brokaw (drums). Released on Sub Pop, their core discography—Frigid Stars (1990), Barely Real (1992), and The White Birch (1994)—became touchstones of slowcore. The group reunited for shows in 2012 and again in 2023.

Signed to Sub Pop for their original releases; later compiled by Numero Group on the 2012 box set When I See The Sun. The White Birch features David Grubbs (guitar) and Doug Scharin (drums).

Codeine, New York slowcore pioneers, are praised across DeBaser for hushed intensity, deliberate tempos, and cathartic crescendos. Reviews spotlight Frigid Stars as a genre pillar and The White Birch as their refined, wintry peak, with Barely Real as a revealing midpoint. A 2012 reunion show in Bologna adds lived emotion to the lore. Expect silence weaponized as music, and guitars that bruise slowly.

Notable Quotes

❝ Codeine is a band formed in 1989 in New York, with a lineup featuring Stephen Immerwahr on vocals and bass, Chris Brokaw on drums, and John Engle on guitar.
❝ Frigid Stars, the startling debut by Codeine, released by the Sub Pop label, a magnificent praise of slowness
❝ Silence as a musical element perhaps forgotten for too long.
❝ Calm. Unease. Calm. Tension. Explosion. Restless calm. Tension. And more tension.
❝ Languid, narcotic, melancholic, impressionistic rock... these and other labels have been regularly used to brand the productions of the Chicago trio.
❝ Every time we listen it's one more scar. But it's one less wound
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