Bedhead (band)

Bedhead was an American, Texas-based indie rock band, active from 1991 to 1998. Members consisted of Matt and Bubba Kadane (vocals and guitar), Tench Coxe (guitar), Kris Wheat (bass), and Trini Martinez (drums). The band released several EPs and three LPs on Trance Syndicate, touring intermittently.[1] Bedhead's music was generally subdued, with three electric guitars and one electric bass guitar over sung or spoken vocals.[2] Allmusic dubbed the group "the quintessential indie rock band,"[3] and Tiny Mix Tapes gave their final album Transaction de Novo a perfect 5/5 score.[4]

For other uses, see Bedhead (disambiguation).
Bedhead
OriginDallas, Texas, United States
GenresIndie rock, slowcore, post-rock
Years active1991 (1991)–1998 (1998)
LabelsDirect Hit Records, Trance Syndicate, Jetset Records, Numero Group
Associated actsMacha, Steve Albini, The New Year
WebsiteBedhead Official
Past membersMatt Kadane
Bubba Kadane
Tench Coxe
Kris Wheat
Trini Martinez

In 1999, a year after the breakup of Bedhead, Matt and Bubba Kadane went on to form The New Year, a band with a style similar to Bedhead's.[1]

History

Founding

The roots of the band trace back to brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane playing music together as children in Wichita Falls, Texas.[1] They later began playing music together in Dallas, Texas.[1] Drummer Trini Martinez was the first addition to the duo's band in 1990, followed by guitarist Tench Coxe and bassist Kris Wheat.[5] The band was formed into Bedhead in 1991. After playing their debut show in Austin in early 1992, they released two early singles on Dallas-based record label Direct Hit Records, one in 1992 and one in 1993.[1]

WhatFunLifeWas (1994)

In 1993 the band came to the attention of King Coffey, drummer of the Butthole Surfers and founder of Trance Syndicate Records, who signed them to Trance Syndicate shortly after hearing them.[1] Bedhead's debut album, WhatFunLifeWas, was released in 1994, to positive reviews. Sputnik Music gave WhatFunLifeWas 4/5 stars,[6] and it received 4.5/5 stars from Allmusic.[7]

Sputnik Music stated that the album's themes touch on loss and depression, "but with a sense of the profound. WhatFunLifeWas is a modest album; slow indie rock with a hint of the epic, that draws upon its broodiness to create a serenely personal atmosphere."[6] Allmusic noted the band's careful use of both loud and soft dynamics, stating "The various comparisons to the Velvet Underground, Joy Division, and Spacemen 3 all make a certain sense, but...Bedhead have much more of an individual sensibility...rather than simply rehashing."[7]

They released two EPs before their second full-length, Beheaded. The first EP was a live recording taken on March 31, 1994, titled 4songCDEP19:10. The group launched its first expansive tour in the middle of 1995, and released the EP The Dark Ages in February 1996.[1]

Beheaded (1996)
Main article: Beheaded (album)

Their second LP Beheaded was released on Trance Syndicate on October 24, 1996.[1] Beheaded received 4/5 stars from Allmusic,[8] with a positive review stating, "at the heart of the band is an indie rock sound that can be traced back to the most pleasant material of the Velvet Underground. A trio of guitars lays down unexceptional, strummed accompaniments; vocalists employ a reserved sing-speak; the drummer maintains a lazy pulse. However, with Bedhead these elements are so perfectly executed that the music seems to play itself. Beheaded represents another stop on the road to slow-burning, soaring, indie rock/pop perfection."[8]

Transaction de Novo (1998)
Main article: Transaction de Novo

Their last LP, Transaction de Novo, was recorded by Steve Albini and released in 1998. In a departure from their usual sound, Transaction De Novo featured more up-tempo, heavily distorted songs than its predecessors.[9][10] Transaction de Novo received 4.5/5 stars from Allmusic,[3] with a positive review stating "It's hard to imagine the group perfecting this sound much further."[3] The album received a perfect 5/5 score from Tiny Mix Tapes.[4]

After Bedhead

Bedhead broke up shortly after the release of Transaction De Novo, in 1998. After their breakup, the "Lepidoptera/Leper" 10" single was released in October 1998 on Trance Syndicate. This was followed by Macha Loved Bedhead, on April 25, 2000: a collaboration between the Kadane Brothers and Macha released on Jetset Records.[1] After the band ended, guitarist Tench Coxe went on to earn a PhD in Russian Literature from Columbia University.[11]

The New Year and Overseas

The Kadane brothers went on to form The New Year, and signed to Touch and Go Records.[1] While still playing with The New Year, in 2012 Bubba and Matt Kadane formed Overseas with David Bazan of Pedro The Lion and Will Johnson of Centro-matic. Their debut album was released on June 11, 2013.[12]

Style

Bedhead's music was generally subdued, with a polyphonic sound based on the interlocking of single-line melodies played by three electric guitars and one electric bass guitar (often played with a capo), nearly always using clean (undistorted) tones, prompting comparisons to the Velvet Underground.[2]

According to Allmusic, "What distinguished [Bedhead] was the way it combined [indie rock]'s modest ambitions with careful song construction and rock & roll's sense of grand dynamic excitement. This was the quintessential indie rock band because it delivered some of the best the genre is capable of: workaday vocals that actually work, gorgeous melodies (though uncommercial, this music doesn't have to be indigestible), and dynamics that could crush the listener."[3]

The group's vocals were often delivered in such a low key manner that they could be difficult to decipher.[10] This unusual sound was dubbed by some critics as "slo-core," referring to the slow tempos of many of the band's songs, though the band's members objected to the labeling in interviews. In reality, many of the group's songs only begin slow before building in speed, intensity and volume. Bedhead also experimented with time signatures less commonly used in rock music, by playing some songs in 7/8 or 5/4 meter.

Members
  • Matt Kadane (electric guitar, vocals)
  • Bubba Kadane (electric guitar, vocals)
  • Tench Coxe (electric guitar)
  • Kris Wheat (electric bass guitar)
  • Trini Martinez (drum set)

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio and live albums by Bedhead
Year Album title Release details
1994 WhatFunLifeWas
1996 Beheaded
  • Released: Oct 24, 1996
  • Label: Trance Syndicate
  • Format: LP, CD, DL
1998 Transaction de Novo
  • Released: Feb 10, 1998
  • Label: Trance Syndicate
  • Format: LP, CD, DL
2014 1992–1998
(box set)
2015 Live 1998
(live album, LP edition titled Live In Chicago)
  • Released: April 18, 2015
  • Label: Numero Group
  • Format: LP, CD, DL

EPs
List of studio and live EPs by Bedhead
Year Album title Release details
1994 4songEP19:10
(live EP)
1996 The Dark Ages
  • Released: Feb 20, 1996
  • Label: Trance Syndicate
  • Format: 10", CD, DL
2000 Macha Loved Bedhead
(with Macha)

Singles
Incomplete list of songs by Bedhead
Year Title Release Notes
1992 "Bedside Table/Living Well" 2 song singleDirect Hit Records
1993 "The Rest of the Day/I'm Not Here"
1998 "Lepidoptera/Leper" Trance Syndicate, Oct 20, 1998

Compilations
  • 1995: Cinco Anos compilation (Trance Syndicate) - track "The Dark Ages"

Unreleased

Covers
Incomplete list of covers of Bedhead songs
Yr Song Covering artist(s) Notes
2008"Bedside Table"Adem IlhanDomino Records

Further reading

See also

References
  1. Ankeny, Jason. "Bedhead Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  2. "Bedhead: Cardiff". Brainwashed. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  3. Bush, Nathan (February 1998). "Bedhead Review: Transaction de Novo". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  4. "Bedhead - Transaction De Novo - Music Review - Tiny Mix Tapes". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  5. "Bedhead: Milk". Brainwashed. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  6. Cooper, Kane (August 7, 2009). "Review: WhatFunLifeWas". Sputnik Music. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  7. Raggett, Ned (1994). "Bedhead Review: What Fun Life Was". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  8. Bush, Nathan (October 1996). "Bedhead Review: Beheaded". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  9. "Sharps and Flats: Bedhead". Salon. February 18, 1998. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  10. "Music Reviews: Vol 17, Issue 24". The Austin Chronicle. 1997. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  11. "Musicians with PhD's - Division by Zero". Division by Zero. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  12. Thomas, Fred (2013-06-11). "Overseas - Overseas : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  13. Wilonksy, Robert (May 16, 1996). "Rhyme and Reason". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  14. Wilonksy, Robert (August 6, 1998). "Putting It To Bed". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  15. Wilonksy, Robert (March 14, 1996). "Stabbed in the redneck". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  16. Wilonksy, Robert (November 23, 1995). "Red Hot". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
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