### Code Orange Kids: Love is love/Return to dust

#### 13/12/12 || jaimeviejo

Kids are going crazy these days.

You just need to look around to see how many bands out there have teenage members. It makes me think about how nonsensical my existence was before I found the love and comfort of music.

Kids these days are better than you at playing brutal music.

You just need to listen to twenty seconds of the first track of the debut album of Code Orange Kids, “Love is Love/Return to Dust”. The delivery is vicious, the sound is oppressive, and the energy of the band is unstoppable.

Code Orange Kids’ debut was released by Converge’s vocalist Jacob Bannon’s label Deathwish, something that shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody, as they share obvious similarities with the Salem band. The album was recorded in June 2012 with Kurt Ballou of Converge at his own GodCity studio, which was the perfect choice as he really knows how to capture the intensity and feeling of a live performance.

“Love is Love/Return to Dust” is a Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde-kind-of album. The band is very good at this duality of super aggressive music mixed with some other moments of melancholy and ethereal textures, sounding like Sigur Rós at times during “Colors”. The mellow and atmospheric moments of the album are really haunting and sound creepy as hell with the voice of Reba Meyers in the background, like the ending of “Liars/Trudge”. The aggressive parts are a mix of grinding blasts and chaotic-sludge-hardcore with a lot of variation and quick witted finger play, which helps to keep the flow of the album going. The main vocals come from the throat of the drummer Jami Morgan, but he shares duties with both guitar players too, and all of them just sound like they are suffering in agonizing pain at the bottom of a volcano, which is nice.

To be honest, this is a familiar sounding album, but it has tons of energy, a great production and sickening heavy songs. It is twenty-seven minutes of full intensity and exciting ideas that I’m sure will grow even taller in the future.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Deathwish Inc
- Website: Code Orange Kids Facebook
- Band
- Reba Meyers: vocals and guitar
- Eric Balderose: vocals and guitar
- Joe Goldman: bass
- Jami Morgan: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Flowermouth (The Leech)
- 02. Around My Neck/On My Head
- 03. Sleep (I’ve Been Slipping)”
- 04. Liars/Trudge
- 05. Colors (Into Nothing)
- 06. Nothing (The Rat)
- 07. Roots Are Certain/Sky Is Empty
- 08. Choices (Love Is Love)”
- 09. Calm/Breathe
- 10. Bloom (Return To Dust)”