This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Once upon a time there was a great slowcore band called Bedhead.
They were great because a) they had the coolest name ever for a slowcore band, and b) their pioneering sound was fascinatingly intricate and hauntingly touching. Then, like all great things, they came to an end. But now, after years of hibernation, Bedhead’s leaders — Texas singer-guitarist siblings Matt and Bubba Kadane — are back with their new outfit The New Year. And while their debut disc bears the Kanes’ unmistakable stamp — low-key vocals, darkly chiming guitars, hypnotic beats — these 10 songs also find them wiping some of the sleep from their eyes. Most of Newness Ends cruises along to bouncy, midtempo rhythms, and a few cuts (notably the angularly Pavement-ish Gasoline and The Block That Doesn’t Exist) almost rock out. Relatively speaking, of course. The truth is you could still play much of this album at high volume and not wake the folks. But for the Kane boys, Newness Ends may be as close as they’ll ever get to heavy metal. Or to replicating the greatness of Bedhead.
