Anyone who has followed the Kadane brothers over the past almost 20 years first as Bedhead, now as the New Year pretty much knows what to expect from a new album released under their guidance. You're guaranteed chord progressions that start off quietly and build and build until the speakers are overflowing with chiming guitars and your heart swells at the restrained majesty of it all. Count too on Matt Kadane's poignant, almost spoken vocals and glum lyrics. Take it to the bank that your listening experience will be emotional and fulfilling. On their third, self-titled, album the New Year continue to take steps away from the sound that while in Bedhead they cultivated to perfection. Bedhead's songs were more about the spaces between the notes, the way the chords meshed together, and an overall hushed bleakness that gave the songs a decidedly melancholy appeal. The New Year feels more song based with a richer, more arranged sound and a punchier rhythm section. Sure, Bedhead had uptempo songs and could rock on occasion but the New Year has a barely harnessed power that fills up a room. The solos the brothers tear off on rockers like "The Idea of You" or "The Door Opens" have real emotional power; indie rock stalwart Chris Brokaw is typically thunderous on drums, and the whole band can raise quite a ruckus when they try. The songs and overall feel of the New Year is much sunnier too, almost fun at times. "The Company I Can Get"'s uncharacteristically lighthearted lyrics about taking all the friends they can get, even the "redneck in the red Corvette," almost provokes a chuckle, something that would have been unthinkable in the Bedhead days. Of course, it is still the Kadanes so it's not exactly a Polyphonic Spree record, there is still plenty of quiet grace and melancholy to go around. Another slight change on The New Year is the use of pianos as both part of the ensemble and taking the forefront on the ballad "Body and Soul." Though at first glance it almost seems heretical to add piano to such a perfectly balanced sound, it actually works well. Indeed the whole album works like a charm, the Kadanes songwriting has never been better, and the attention to sonic detail pays off throughout. Songs like "Seven Days and Seven Nights" and "Folios" are among the best the brothers have ever put on record, and that's saying a lot. The New Year also stands as an equal to the brothers' best work and that makes it absolutely essential to any card-carrying indie rock devotee.
The New Year is an influential band mainly led by brothers Matt and Bubb Kadane who are also the founding members of Bedhead. It's been four years since their last album, but finally they've put together a stunning collection for their new S/T album released on Touch and Go/Quarterstick. The flow of this album feels [...]
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Artist: The New YearAlbum: The New YearRelease Date: 09/09/08Label: Touch and Go RecordsLink: www.thenewyear.netThe opening track on the New Year’s recent release quickly establishes that they are in no hurry. It takes a leisurely three minutes for the vocals in “Folios” to eventually drift in. When they do, Matt Kadane sings with the kind of [...]
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New WaxI'd like to claim that I was previously familiar with The New Year because their new album is wonderful and because they seem like a band destined to climb my last.fm charts, but I had only recently heard of them and after delving into their latest album, which is self-titled and set to be released on Touch & Go next month, I consider myself a new fan. Formed by brothers Matt and Bubba K...
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Artist: The New YearAlbum: The New YearRelease Date: 09/09/08Label: Touch and Go RecordsLink: www.thenewyear.netThe opening track on the New Year’s recent release quickly establishes that they are in no hurry. It takes a leisurely three minutes for the vocals in “Folios” to eventually drift in. When they do, Matt Kadane sings with the kind of [...]
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Photo via Facebook"There's a new album from The New Year" is all the review that longtime fans need. Those less familiar with the works of the brothers Kadane may need a little more to go on. They began as Bedhead, a mid-90s Texan band known for their slow, languid songs built on a nest of intricately intertwined and unfailingly melodic guitar lines, and when that outfit dissolved in 1999 th...
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One of my favorite bands -- Bedhead -- turned into one of my other favorite bands -- The New Year. They're great live -- slow builds, soaring heights, crashing cymbals!There not well enough known to warrant huge rooms -- so they'll likeley be playing small rooms -- which is even better!Tour Dates:9/18 - Granada Theatre - Dallas, TX9/19 - Rudyards - Houston, TX9/20 - Emo's Alternative Lounge - A...
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New WaxI'd like to claim that I was previously familiar with The New Year because their new album is wonderful and because they seem like a band destined to climb my last.fm charts, but I had only recently heard of them and after delving into their latest album, which is self-titled and set to be released on Touch & Go next month, I consider myself a new fan. Formed by brothers Matt and Bubba K...
More >
The New Year is an influential band mainly led by brothers Matt and Bubb Kadane who are also the founding members of Bedhead. It's been four years since their last album, but finally they've put together a stunning collection for their new S/T album released on Touch and Go/Quarterstick. The flow of this album feels [...]
More >
the bros kadanes, matt and bubba, made up the seminal indie rock band bedhead, which were responsibile in my opinion, for three of the best and most grossly underrated records to come out of the 90's, what fun life was, self titled and transaction de novo. bedhead had penchant for building music rather than songs. still their songs were slow [...]
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• Jack says his plan is working. Apparently he's training deer to jump through windows to disrupt local classrooms. This, of course, answers several questions I've been wondering about Jack lately. Chiefly, they are "What the hell is Jack doing all day when he's not at home?" and "Where the hell is Jack all day [...]
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 "The New Year")
