The New Year [rank: 301] based on users subscribed

Matt and Bubba Kadane have been making quiet powerful music since 1992. In the beginning, they were known as Bedhead, and attracted a significant and loyal following in their hometown of Dallas, Texas. In 1999, several band members rotated in and out and The New Year was formed. Their sound became somewhat more aggressive, but the overall pacing and tone remained. In fact, that's possibly the most remarkable trait of the Kadane brothers: their ability to consistently craft, year after year, rich, intricate music.

The New Year is often placed in the slowcore parlor, sitting quietly alongside bands like Low, Red House Painters and Galaxie 500; and though they certainly share qualities with these groups, The New Year have constructed, in over a decade of musical innovation, a sound all their own. The band is known for their crescendos, for songs that begin quietly, gradually build through additional instrumentation, and finally climax in a magnificent wall of sound. Beneath this seemingly simple formula lies an incredible intricate layering of musical lines, rhythms and near-whisper vocals.

Listening to a song by The New Year is like experiencing the auditory representation of some magical mathematical equation. Perhaps, there is then a formula to their music, but it is far too rich and complex to classify.

Bandega Interview with Bubba Kadane of The New Year (April 2007)

Bandega sat down at the keyboard with Bubba Kadane to discuss performing live, memorable shows, and making young Italian women faint.

Q: The New Year (and Bedhead before it) has been performing live for over a decade. How have your shows changed over the years?
A: I actually enjoy the whole experience more than I used to, I think. By that, I mean I feel more confident and comfortable when we play and I enjoy the company of everyone in the band.

Q: Describe the most memorable live show you've played.
A: Bologna, Italy has been very good to both Bedhead and The New Year. Two of our most memorable shows have been there. Bedhead played there in 1998 at an old theater that was taken over by squatters (Teatro Occupato) who were putting on shows there. The seating was a field of concrete steps, the stage was huge, and the ceiling, made of wood paneling, looked like an upturned ship's hull. We didn't start until 1:00 in the morning and played until about 4:30 AM. They wouldn't let us stop. We played everything that we knew.

The New Year played Bologna in 2002 and it was equally memorable. Very big, welcoming, and intense crowd packed into a venue like a giant cave (Il Covo) and it was one of the most intense shows that we have ever played -- a palpable intensity. Have you lived a full life when you can say that you made a lovely young Italian woman faint with the tiny movements of your fingers?

Q: What venue do you consider to be your "home", where you feel most comfortable, with the crowd and the place itself?
A: If I had to name the place where I currently enjoy playing the most it might be Emo's in Austin because the stage sound is great -- full and big without being reverberant. I don't think there is/was a place that feels like a "home base" though.

Q: Describe the most enjoyable show you've ever experienced as a fan.
A: There are quite a few that are all on the same level and not one that I can honestly single out.

Q: When do you expect The New Year to tour again nationally?
A: We have the upcoming west coast shows in June and then we are going to begin recording our next record in August. Recording will probably happen sporadically through the end of the year. We plan to have the record come out mid-2008 and we hope to do more US touring than we have done in a long time. It may literally become a world tour, with the whole US, Europe, Japan, etc.

Show Reviews for The New Year

Date & Venue	Reviewed by
Jun 21, 2007 - Bottom of the Hill	ira

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