Despite having been active in the live scene for many years now, in terms of actual recordings
Code Y have produced surprisingly little. The band formed in 2002 and released their debut, self-produced album
Circle in July 2004, yet not a lot has been heard from them since. The band still seem to be active in the indie live scene and, until recently, were fairly frequent bloggers, so there still seems to be hope of them producing another album one day.
The album kicks off with the title track,
Circle. The song has a slightly ethereal feel to it with a twinkly piano part mixed in with the almost
MONO-esque guitar-line. Throughout the song
Kim Jung-Hyun can be heard experimenting with short guitar parts, which add another dimension to the music, making it altogether more pleasant to listen to as a piece of work. The song is a mix of many different parts, all blended together beautifully to make an outstanding opening track.
Byeol (Star) follows this and opens with a simple piano part accompanied by soft vocals. While other instruments to do make an appearance in the song, these are the two main driving forces behind the song. While it is not as openly experimental as the opening track, it is a beautiful song that is full of heart. It is possibly its simplicity that helps the song draw you in as it gives the impression of raw emotion that doesn't require any extra frills to prove its point.
The more up-tempo
Island follows with a catchy guitar hook that makes it probably the most commercial sounding song on the album. This is definitely not a bad thing though as it gives the band a chance to show another side of their music. In this song a turntable can be heard giving the song a completely different vibe to the album's opening tracks. Midway through the track, all the music stops and a woman's voice can be heard saying, "Hello, is anybody there? Can you read me?" before the song builds back up again with further vocal effects and a simple instrument loop. The song may not carry as much power as some of the others on the album, but it definitely pleasant to listen to.
Seoninjang (Cactus) opens with an acoustic guitar playing with a slightly synthesised vocal. It is another simple song, which seems to be one of the band's strengths. After 3 minutes of this, the song takes a sudden turn upwards and turns into a song featuring the entire band fully. It is a stark and sudden change but it adds an unexpected twist on a song that you thought was somewhat predictable.
The album draws to a close with
Motel Blue Moon. The song experiments with layering different vocal tracks from the smooth vocal performances that can be heard throughout the album, to the slightly off-key timbre, to the outright scream. The English lyrics, "I must cure my brain" can be picked out, which seem to fit the slightly unsettling feel of the track as a whole. At just 2:17, it is the shortest track on the album but acts as a nice parting gift.
It would be easy to write
Code Y off as just another indie band but there's definitely something else there. If you look below the surface there is an experimental band lurking that is reminiscent of some of the American art rock bands. This is definitely a strong and promising release full of little details that make it such a pleasure to listen to. The only problem with it is that, with only five tracks, it leaves the listener wanting more. If this release is anything to go by, we can only hope that more will be heard from the band in the near future.
Samples from the album can be found on the band's
blog.
