Codeseven - Dancing Echoes and Dead Sounds
By Mark Hensch

Codeseven - Dancing Echoes and Dead Sounds
Label: Equal Vision
Rating: 

Northern Carolina's Codeseven has several key things going for them in the creation of their Equal Vision Records debut, Dancing Echoes and Dead Sounds. The five-piece features three, count 'em, three brothers, Jon Tuttle on bass and programming duties, while his brother James guitars and synths and their other brother Matt drums. Eric Weyer also guitars, and the group is capped off by vocalist Jeff Jenkins. Besides the obvious family connection, Codeseven has experience under their belts, this being the most recent in a fair sized catalog of releases, though again it is the band's debut for Equal Vision records. Throw in a producer who helped create the genius Coheed & Cambria albums, and the strangely buzz-worthy Straylight Run album, Codeseven should soar past the limits of their past success with their new album.

Sadly, Codeseven falls after rising only so high. This album is a frustrating mix of quality-shoegazerish pop music that is well-crafted, intelligent, and implemented flawlessly. However, it is marred by several pieces of annoying filler, repetition, and a lack of serious attachment. In other words, I found myself not wanting to listen to this album all of the time (a rarity be it for review CDs or regular ones), and when I did the better tracks were often overshadowed by the lesser ones.

That doesn't mean Codeseven's Dancing Echoes and Dead Sounds is a bad album. For someone like me, who spends most of the time listening to heavier genres, on a "chill out" day or around bedtime, this album is refreshing and good. Soothing, serene, reflective, and at times (and in the right mood) soft music nirvana, Codeseven is disheartening on this release not because their music is bad, but because they spend so much time wasting it on pointless instrumental tracks and trying too hard.

"La Memiore Reincarnation" is one of those bland, pointless, and downright aggravating intro tracks so many bands seem to incorporate lately to make an opening message inherent in the album. It is a mix of pointless swirls and effects, lasting a bogus 38 seconds, and not even really a song. Thank God for "All The Best Dreams" a soothing and mystical mix of airy psychedelic guitars, 80's synths, and top-notch vocals from frontman Jeff Jenkins. The song even at some points twist into an overdriven chorus that reflects a heavier element to Codeseven, but still retains that cloudy sound of serenity and tranquility.

"Pathetic Justice" is an awesome little depressing ditty with bouncy drum beats constantly skipping along in the background, piano keys chiming with melancholy, emotional vocals, and later on some nice distorted guitars. 

"Nasty Little Revolution" is the last highlight for a couple songs, so sit back and enjoy as some effects intro in conjuring images of Sputnik orbiting dark and lifeless voidal orbits. Later on the song swirls in with weird effects and synths that echo and bounce like echolocation, and this song turns out alright. The infuriating "Quail's Dream" is a short and pointless (i.e. filler) track that is nothing but echoing and incoherent vocals strung together without rhyme or reason over quiet and subtle programming. 

"Roped and Tied" pays slight homage to Sparta or something else along those lines but is a little too cheesy for its own good. A decidedly hard to love, hard to hate track. "The Day That Doesn't End" is a catchy synth jam. The next track, "Shalo" is more silly filler that I am not even going to bother to review. 

"Alt Wave" is a jingling synth rocker that is syrupy yet dark, not to mention a good song all around. "The Devil's Interval" is a highlight of the album; strange drum beats wave in over a mystical little guitar piece and some seriously spacey vocals. An upbeat yet sad chorus cap off one of the only truly stunning songs on this album. "Cherry Tree" is believe it or not, more of that DAMN BLOODY FILLER!!! The rocking (at least in Codeseven terms) "Sunflower" jams in with blooping and rolling riffs/effects before going to more alternative synth pop of intriguing quality.

This album should be better then what it is. I am generally not a big synth-pop fan, but on the better tracks of this album, Codeseven almost catch me. Everytime however that they almost get me hooked, a freaking piece of instrumental buffering floats on, totally eliminating the connections made to previous songs, still fresh and fragile. On an album of twelve songs, it is kind of sad that a band obviously talented like Codeseven puts four songs in as filler tracks. In simplistic math terms, that's pretty much 1/3 of the album. At just short of 45 minutes, that isn't much bang for your buck. As much as I don't want to mislead anyone, I'd, believe it or not, still recommend this CD as the songs that are REAL songs are actually pretty darn good. If you mind filler too much however, or beyond that you hate melancholy and sad music played in 80's style synth-wave-rock, then Codeseven isn't for you. 

Let's hope next album that Codeseven will trim some of the fat and make an album that's more lean, sparse, and stark; the band shines in moments like these. All in all, I still have come to the conclusion that there should be more sparks of life In Dancing Echoes and Dead Sounds.

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