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Their next release, Division Of Labor is a mini-LP that shows
the band's musical growth into a multi-dimensional entity. CMJ
magazine stated "With chiming guitar tones, quirky time
changes and a delicate balance between loudness and melody,
CODESEVEN whirls like Hot Water Music doing a tango with Cave
In" which later went on to top the CMJ charts for a second
consecutive time. The masterful production The Rescue, was produced by Alex Newport (At The Drive In, Will Haven, Sepultura) and is scheduled to be released in May of 2002. Look for them touring through your town as they will be on the road non-stop in support of The Rescue.
Review
of "The Rescue"
The fourth track, "Smell Of Yellow and Black," returns to the laziness, and incorporates keyboards and plenty of spacey guitar work. The song grows in intensity, but then loops to its relaxed state, and then back. "Danger" definitely emits a Radiohead vibe, especially with the vocals. The rhythm section is accompanied by what sounds like a didjerdu. Keyboards and clean guitars are used again as a foundation, with guitar picking laid on top. The album's title track, "The Rescue," is possibly the heaviest and most aggressive number of the record, with driving crunch opening the song, and then going back and forth between serene guitars and buzzing distortion. "Give It To Us" has some interesting noise along with the music, and continues with the light guitars and solid drumming that eventually builds up. The final cut, "Obsolete Folksong," begins with light percussion, acoustic strumming, and singing. Bass and effect-laden guitars eventually enter soon after. Although some Codeseven purists may disagree with me, I believe that the band's current sound is the most successful to date because it is entirely focused. In the past, the unit had two singers. One who actually sang (current, and sole singer, Jenkins), while the other screamed (David Owens). This created a dichotomy within the music, which was particularly evident with "Division of Labor," a mixture of emotional rock and metalcore. With the departure of Owens, however, Codeseven has focused on the atmospheric rock which they hinted at in the past, as well as providing a backdrop for Jenkins to display his vocal range. Furthermore, the band is able to write and arrange catchy, often hypnotic music, while successfully incorporating numerous effects and sounds. Bottom Line: Fans of older Codeseven may be divided with this release because of the fairly dramatic stylistic/musical change. If you have to, think of this as another band (Cave In, anyone?), because it would be a shame for listeners to dismiss "The Rescue" just because "They don't play hardcore anymore." There is so much more that this record offers than in the past. It's not life changing, but it certainly moved me, and I truly hope that it will do the same with you. The musicianship and writing is top-notch, and just a real pleasure to listen to. I pretty much guarantee that you'll be humming these songs after you've listed to this album. Now I know why Codeseven kids are nuts for this band. (
Review by John Lambgoat )
Official
Web Site: www.ncmusic.com/bands/codeseven/
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Formed
in 1995, Winston-Salem, NC's CODESEVEN was started by three
brothers (James, Jon and Matt) who have grown up playing together
since toddlers. The first group of songs the band wrote were
recorded for a demo and later picked up and released by local
punk rock label Huel records. While half of the band was still
in high school, the buzz around the record was attracting interest
from other labels. 
The
band decided on The Music Cartel and released A Sense of Coalition
in July of 1998. Their cover of Don Henley's "Boys Of Summer"
reached the top of the college radio charts, aired on the WWF
Sunday Night Heat program, and was even played and critiqued
on the Howard Stern show!
was
done by the band and Kurt Ballou of Converge at Godcity in Boston,
Mass. As Division of Labor hit the stores in July of 99, numerous
reviews and interviews followed up shortly in magazines such
as Hit Parader, Metal Maniacs, Terrorizer, Kerrang and countless
underground fanzines across the US and throughout Europe. Their
desire to write spastic but well crafted songs was beginning
to gain interest from all genres of the media around the world.
After touring the US numerous times--playing with bands such
as Avail and Boy Sets Fire to Saves The Day and A New Found
Glory--they began writing their follow up to Division Of Labor
in 2001 entitled The Rescue. 
Sometimes
being unfamiliar with the band that you're reviewing can be
beneficial, particularly with a unit like Codeseven. From what
I've gathered, each record the band released has had somewhat
of a different sound, stemming back to Codeseven's debut, "Sense
Of Coalition." More recently, the unit's evolution in sound
has been compared to the drastic one of Boston's Cave In. In
reviewing this record, I did take a listen to Codeseven's previous
offering, "Division of Labor," but more on that later.
Aside from all the comparisons, Codeseven's new full-length,
"The Rescue," is a solid record that should to appeal
to fans of atmospheric, melodic rock, with strains of Cave In,
Pink Floyd, and Radiohead.