Customer Reviews

Newness Ends

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The Kadane brothers used to be in a band called Bedhead, who a lot of people liked because they sounded not unlike the Velvet Underground and wrote sad, lovely songs about being sad and lovely and having fairly ambitious beards. Further, one of the band's auteurs was named Bubba Kadane, which certainly set them apart from many of their peers and made their aficionados like them more. (If it's any measure of fan loyalty, the profusion of websites and mailing lists available online shocked even this longtime fan.) But then Bedhead broke up, which was sad and not very lovely. Now les freres Kadane have started a new band called the New Year, whose first LP is called Newness Ends, which isn't particularly sad. Thankfully, it's still pretty damned lovely.

Everything surrounding the New Year's debut screams "break with the past." Seeing as the guys elect to use the word "new" in both album title and band name, someone might get the idea that these guys have something to prove. After all, Bedhead's sinuous, country-inflected sorrow and chimy guitar lines could be argued as one of the Ground Zeroes for the current slow-core renaissance, making theirs one of '90s-vintage indie rock's most distinctive, influential sounds. The obvious question for the band that now contains the braintrust of such a blockbuster act is whether to follow down the same path of their previous triumphs or to light out for new territory.

Newness Ends cannily splits the difference between innovation and nostalgia. The New Year features Chris Brokaw on drums, where he follows roughly the same steps he did behind the kit for Codeine, another seminal drowsy-rock combo. His tempos here are a little juicier than they were in his Codeine days, as if his other occasional work as axeman for vicious avant-bluesers Come has led him to understand the virtues of amping up a bit.

Not uncoincidentally, the New Year seem more willing to rock than their immediate antecedents ever were. "Reconstruction" builds from a quiet, circular guitar figure into a roiling jam, signaling the band's development from a frail, occasionally silent rock band into an edgier, more rock-and-roll outfit. Similarly, "Gasoline" hurtles forward, propelled by skittery drumming and endlessly inventive soloing. Though no one's going to mistake the New Year for the Donnas, someone involved here has connected with their inner Angus Young.

Or, at any rate, their inner Albini. Mr. Shellac committed this LP to tape, and though it's hardly the grot-rock he's become known for, his less-is-more approach certainly aids Newness Ends. Now that the boys in the band are playing harder, with more propulsive riffs and structures, the bare-bones effects of the recording make them sound even leaner and, god forbid, meaner. Where music of this variety can often disappear into its own navel without warning, the New Year sound hale, healthy and ready to rock.

Bear in mind, though, that on their swansong collaboration with compatriots Macha, Matt and Bubba Kadane managed to make Cher's "Believe" into a somber dirge, and their sedated side doesn't go neglected here, either. "One Plus One Minus One Equals One" is the sort of mumbled hymn that marmoset-looking character from Bright Eyes would give important teeth for: Nashville-esque lead guitar co-exists peaceably with subtle washes of feedback, and the band's rhythm section patiently anchors the track. "Alter Ego" is endearing, strummy pop that builds to a complex instrumental climax without ever turning into abstraction or sludge.

So much of the Kadanes' new effort indicates a self-consciousness about their place in the cosmos. Newness Ends, from its title on down, seems conscious of the ways in which it looks to Bedhead's accomplishments while plotting the future. At the same time, the band's name bespeaks a certain hope for change and possibility. Let's hope both prophecies turn out to be true.

-Sam Eccleston

Recently read a review of this album. A full length article devoted to b**ching and moaning about the fact that bedhead no longer existed and how that was a bleeping crying bleeping shame. Disgusted with the fact that this band had decided to call it quits cause no one was listening or caring. No more Bedhead. Something was taken from us that day we found out that there would never be another Bedhead album to cherish.....it was ALL the guy could gush on about. His last few words after tireless many, become the sum of our mutual feelings on NEWNESS ENDS, and the fact it is, "it turns out that I (we) like it a lot".

It's the sort of cd that you put on repeat; you settle down into your chair, and it plays over and over and over....and the thought to change it never crosses your mind. You crave to hear the next song. The times when you're in a bar, or listening to the radio. Your favorite song on your favorite album comes on. You know the next song and you know it well. The disappointment when something else is replaced by alien goings on, is unbearable. So, within the privacy of your own home, you can hit the damn repeat button.

The New Year/Bedhead have always rocked. People who insist on pigeonholing them into the slowcore stuff obviously stop or forward through all of there songs after hitting the half way point. Listen to Whatfunlifewas and tell me that Bedhead didn't rock. They start slow and build to a quite rockin' crescendo. That said, The New Year do "rock" more then Bedhead in the traditional sense. The Velvet Underground is mentioned a lot as an influence for Bedhead. It has come much more to the front with The New Year. There is no doubt that many of these songs are influenced by VU/Lou Reed, especially Gasoline. This is such a great guitar rock album. Anyone into slightly off kilter rock music will love this album. It has its gentle slow moments for sure, but listen to Gasoline or the last three songs of the album for proof that The New Year/Bedhead can take it up a notch when they want to.

This is not a Bedhead album. Though you can see how the Kadane brothers were starting to get a bit louder in Transaction de Novo, and this record seems to be another step in a similar direction. It's not rockin' by any means--just nice songs that have a little volume and a beat. There's a bit of country influence creepng into some of these songs too. I found the melodies to be a bit less catchy than some of the Bedhead stuff, but maybe they're "grow on you" kind of hooks. The recording (steve Albini) is incredible, an aural hot fudge sundae. Definitely worth a listen.

When talking about slowcore much of the talk inevitably revolves around Low. There was also another great band playing the same kind of music and that was Bedhead. Sadly Bedhead is no more but wait, shed no tears, because The New Year basically arose from Bedhead's ashes and what's more important, they're even better than their former incarnation. Low might haven been regarded by many as slowcore's kings but there's no way they can top this brilliant effort. What makes the record stand out is, as many reviews point out, the tempos which are considerably faster paced! Don't get me wrong, this is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, a really fast record but compared to slowcore's standards... well, it's like speed-metal! Low too "hit the gas" on their latest release but all in all I think that TNY effort is better! See for yourself...

Bedhead has been one of my favorite bands since the mid 1990s. Every new release kept me interested in them beyond the typical passing fancy of the indie world. Newness Ends is a strong release. It sounds very much in the vein of "Transaction du Novo" which means the vocals are a touch louder, the songs have fewer "wall of sound" moments and there's a conscious melodic effort. On songs like "Newness Ends", "Half a Day", and "Great Expectations" The New Year really shoots for a gentle pop melody that more swirls around the listener than knocks them in the head. I guess that's why I like The New Year and Bedhead, their music is never overbearing and it's more than simply pleasant. It's a band that has mastered gentle/edgy rock music than doesn't fade with time.

When they debuted, Bedhead were to "slo-core" what the Rolling Stones had been to rhythm and blues: a new spirit and a new sound for a well-established format. While bearing a passing resemblance, the music of the Texas band had little in common with Codeine's dogma. Brothers Bubba and Matt Kadane wrote trance-y, dilated songs that relied on solid melodies and were imbued with Velvet Underground-ish psychedelia. Codeine's music was black and white; Bedhead's was full color.

Bedhead imploded after 1997's "Transaction De Novo," and the Kadanes took a while to regroup. As the New Year, they return with a supergroup of sorts, featuring Codeine's Chris Brokaw on drums, Saturnine's Mike Donofrio on bass and Peter Schmidt on guitar, and one can easily relate the new band's sound with the final Bedhead album's user-friendly interface.

"Newness Ends" embraces a more robust sound, bringing the melody to the forefront and fast-forwarding the pace to the edge of power-pop. Sweet litanies like "Half A Day," "Great Expectations," and "Alter Ego" still hover at the border between Red House Painters and Leonard Cohen. But the smooth, dreamy aria of "Gasoline" concocts a vision of Lou Reed fronting the Smiths ("One Plus One Minus One Equals One" is virtually a rewrite of "Sweet Jane"), and the waltzing, whirling, hypnotic title track borrows equally from Neil Young and the Velvet Underground.

While Bedhead often eschewed the traditional structure of a rock song, the New Year pays explicit tribute to the classics. While some of the loud and noisy rave-ups sound out of context and balance, the added verve and more complex textures inject intriguing variables into the Bedhead chemical equation.

-- Piero Scaruffi

I don't have much to add to the other reviews except this: In addition to the terrific melodies, flawless production, and wonderful writing, this album has some great play with time signatures. Bedhead was never content with sticking to the 4/4 pop standby, and frequently played in 3/4 and 6/8. The New Year goes a step further and starts playing around with 5/4 and even with changing signatures repeatedly within a song. This kind of noodling is usually annoying in other hands, but the New Year pulls off Dave Brubeck's trick of making arcane time signatures toe-tapping. These guys are amazing and deserve to be millionaires. Buy this album and any others they put out.

Totally stumbled across this CD while desperately looking for something new (no pun) in Other Music in New York. Their review enticed me in such a way, I took the chance. Having been familiar with Bedhead, I knew it couldn't be bad...well, it's one of the best albums of the year. Honestly. Check it out, you won't be at all disappointed. Highlights "Half a day", "Gasoline" and "One plus one minus one equals one"...