Codice Ego - Rainbow's End EP - Track By Track Review
For the friends of: Massive Attack, Radiohead, Tricky
Genre: triphop, shoegaze, post rock
Year: 2023
Country: Italy
Favorite track(s): 'Rainbow's End' and 'Errors and Repairs'
Emoji: 👽
Random words: underground sewer
Instagram: @codice_ego
Italian act 'Codice Ego' has released the Rainbow’s End EP, including three dark tracks blending multiple genres together. The EP has been mixed by 'Hugo Nicolson' (Björk, Primal Scream, Radiohead) and is their first release to feature live vocals. The sound has glimpses of experimental and atmospheric soundscapes and industrial elements that incorporate a wide variety of genres, including elements of trip-hop, post-punk, and shoegaze. The band's sound is both haunting and beautiful. The EP follows a three-part narrative based around band member 'Dario Pelizzari’s journey through a mysterious illness that came during (but unrelated to) the COVID pandemic.
The band itself describes the three songs in the following way: "With ‘Rainbow’s End’, we find ourselves at the lowest point; the apex of two stories that separate what you were before - and the unseen future. The following track, ‘Errors And Repairs’ reflects the realization that we need the strength to make a change now or forever be stuck in a limbo of fear and insecurity.
The final song, ‘Contriver’, is the affirmation that only the individual can choose to enact that change, to release yourself and form a cycle of renewal. Dario compares his situation at the time to “the character of a post-apocalyptic wanderer, traveling through a desolate wasteland in search of meaning in a world where everything has been lost”.
Let's dig into the three tracks!
'Rainbow's End'
The first track of the EP has a steady beat in the background, reminding of the post-punk scene but otherwise, the track balances more somewhere between triphop and alternative rock. This combination of different genres makes the whole thing pretty interesting. There are many nice details, like the simple yet ear-catching drum fills and multiple small, great things on the guitar. The lazy vocals suit the gloomy vibe well.
'Errors and Repairs'
The second track has a slightly more electronic vibe compared to the title track. It reminds of the early alternative music scene from the 00s. The drumbeat is pretty captivating. The whole track rolls nicely forward. There are some small details in vocal arrangements that somehow irritate, the sound of the vocalist is brilliant, but just some intonations in the arrangements are somehow a bit forced. Otherwise, the track has a really good atmosphere.
'Contriver'
The beat sounds pretty similar to 'Errors and Repairs,' but it still works well. The bassline sounds nice throughout the album. In a way, it is nice to have some variation to the vocals, but I would still prefer the vocalist from the first two tracks. It would be interesting to hear 'Contriver' with that singer. 'Contriver' balances nicely somewhere between electronic music and alternative rock. It is a pretty good track, but it lacks the feeling that the first two tracks have.
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