Codex Leicester are a four piece band that first formed back in late 2010, their rather unusual monicker comes from a large collection of scientific writings by Leonardo Da Vinci, of his 30 journals Codex Leicester is the most renowned of them all.
The band originally hail from the four corners of Britain but have now gathered appropriately in the East Midlands city of Leicester where they’ve been hard at work crafting their own unique blend of noise pop infused indie rock.
To date the band have already picked up support from the likes of left-field radio specialists John Kennedy (XFM), John Hillcock (XFM & NME) along with BBC Introducing. The band were also featured on the acclaimed indie Big Scary Monsters 2011 Collection along with numerous other up and comers.
A Mad Mans Lullaby EP is a stunning six track introduction to the band’s unique sound, layers of molten thrashy guitars blend with driving bass and pummeling drums whilst the dual vocals of Kris Tearse and Scott West range from a near post hardcore yelp to a more melodic indie holler. The band also manage to bury infectious hooks deep into their wall of sound, urging repeat spins of their rousing, noisy clatter pop.
The opening number Strong Like Bull sets the stall out with a torrent of over-driven guitars, bellowing vocals and bombastic drums and yet somewhere, somehow their are infectious melodies woven into the dense riff roaring grooves. As the EP progresses the band allow those aforementioned melodies and hooks more space to breathe, with the likes of Concrete Stetson containing chant along vocals among the post hardcore battlefield. Whilst the EP’s closing number SS Supersleeper has hard hitting yet shimmering riffs, half whispered vocals and a nod to a more intense shoegazing scene, oddly bringing to mind the likes of My Bloody Valentine.
If you’re looking for big pop hooks and sing-a-long choruses I suggest you look somewhere else, however if you want something a little more challenging and partial for the heavier end of the musical spectrum, Codex Leicester may be right up your street.
This is big, loud and uncompromising bastard pop at it’s best, if you like it noisy you”ve come to the right place.
Rhythm & Booze Rating 8
www.codexleicester.co.uk