The New Year (band)

The New Year is an American indie rock band that formed in 1999. The band was started by former Bedhead members Matt and Bubba Kadane.[1] They released their first album in 2001, Newness Ends, which like their following albums was recorded with Steve Albini. The End Is Near (2004) and The New Year (2008) followed, with both being received positively by music critics at Pitchfork Media and AllMusic. In February 2017, the band announced their first album in nine years, Snow, which was released on April 28, 2017.[2]

This article is about the band. For the 2010 film, see The New Year (film). For other uses, see New Year (disambiguation).
The New Year
Matt Kadane of the New Year in 2007, one of two vocalists in the six-member band
Background information
OriginUnited States
GenresIndie rock, slowcore, post-rock
Years active1999–present
LabelsUndertow Music, Touch and Go Records
Associated actsBedhead, Overseas, David Bazan, Will Johnson, Codeine, Silkworm
Websitewww.thenewyear.net
MembersMatt Kadane
Bubba Kadane
Mike Donofrio
Chris Brokaw
Past membersPeter Schmidt
Josh McKay

History

Background

The band was formed in 1999, a year after the demise of the band Bedhead by former Bedhead members Matt and Bubba Kadane. The New Year was originally intended to be a two-person project made up of only the Kadane brothers. Four musicians, all longtime friends of the Kadanes, were slowly recruited for live performances and the lineup solidified.[1]

Like Bedhead in its later years, The New Year started with no real base of operations.[1] Early on Matt and Bubba Kadane were located respectively in Boston and Dallas. The band soon added bassist Mike Donofrio (of the band Saturnine, located in New York City), drummer Chris Brokaw (in Boston, formerly of the bands Codeine and Come), and guitarist Peter Schmidt (located in Dallas, formerly of the bands Three on a Hill, Funland, Legendary Crystal Chandelier, and part-time member of Bedhead).[3][1]

Recording and touring
Newness Ends (2001)

In 2000, The New Year recorded their first album, Newness Ends, in Chicago, with Steve Albini. Albini had previously recorded the final Bedhead album Transaction De Novo. Newness Ends was released in February 2001 on Touch & Go Records.[3] Because the lineup wasn't complete at the time of its recording, not everyone credited on the album (namely Schmidt) actually played on it.[4] The album garnered critical praise and comparison to the Kadanes' previous work.[5] The Kadanes said in interviews at the time that they felt the only real difference between Bedhead and The New Year was the name, and that if Bedhead had not disbanded that their next album would have sounded very similar to Newness Ends.[3]

For a time in 2003 their friend Josh McKay (of the Athens, Georgia band Macha) joined on keyboards, guitar, and random percussion.[6] the members separated again with most working on other projects. The Kadanes recorded a score for the documentary film Hell House, the soundtrack of which wasn't released until 2004, though the film first appeared in 2001.[3] Brokaw released solo recordings, played on recordings by Evan Dando and Consonant and collaborated on a project with playwright Rinde Eckert.[7] Peter Schmidt played with the Legendary Crystal Chandelier, whose second and final album, Beyond Indifference, was released at about the same time as Newness Ends.[8]

The End Is Near (2004)

In 2003 the members regrouped as The New Year to record the material that would become their album The End Is Near.[9] The album, released by Touch & Go Records in May 2004, was again recorded by Steve Albini.[10] Positively received in publications such as the Dusted Magazine,[11] the band filmed a music video (a first for the Kadanes) for the song "Disease" to accompany the album.[12] The album yielded the band's most popular single, "The End's Not Near," which quickly garnered over a hundred thousand views on YouTube.[13]

The New Year (2008)

A third album by The New Year, The New Year, was released on September 9, 2008. The material is described by Touch and Go Records in a press release stating, "Lyrically, these ten songs address the interlocked themes of lost time, frustrated desire, and the need for others." Like with their other albums, the songs have three guitars. The New Year, however, was new in that almost half the songs are built around the piano.[14]

The album was well-received, earning 4.5/5 stars from Allmusic[15] and 7.5 from Pitchfork Media. A generally positive review by Pitchfork praised the album's more cheerful melodies and hopeful lyrics, while noting the melancholy sound of the band's previous releases was intact on many of the songs.[16]

Will Johnson from the band Centro-matic accompanied the band on the US leg of its autumn 2008 tour.[17]

Overseas and Snow (2017)
See also: Overseas (band)

In June 2012 drummer Chris Brokaw posted on his website that "The New Year has begun work on a new LP in Chicago, again with Mr. Steve Albini at the controls."[18]

In early 2012 Bubba and Matt Kadane formed Overseas[19] with David Bazan of Pedro The Lion and Will Johnson of Centro-matic.[20] Their debut album was officially announced on April 4, 2013 and was released on June 11, 2013.[21]

The band announced in early 2017 that their fourth album, titled Snow, would be released through the Undertow Music Collective. Snow is the first album by the group to not be issued through Touch and Go Records, and the first album by them since their 9-year absence. Two videos have been released so far for the songs "Myths" and "The Last Fall."

Members
Current
Rotating/past
  • Peter Schmidt - guitar
  • Josh McKay - keyboards, guitar, percussion[22]

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio and live albums by The New Year
Year Album title Release details
2001 Newness Ends
2004 The End Is Near
  • Released: May 18, 2004
  • Label: Touch & Go
  • Format: LP, CD, digital
2008 The New Year
  • Released: Sept 9, 2008
  • Label: Touch & Go
  • Format: LP, CD, digital
2017 Snow

Singles
Incomplete list of songs by
Year Title Album Notes
2003 "Sinking Ship" (demo version) Single only Esopus Magazine
2004 "The End's Not Near" The End Is Near

Covers

The New Year songs have been covered by the following artists:

Further reading
Interviews
Reviews

See also

References
  1. "What Fun Life Is". Dallas Observer. February 15, 2001. Archived from the original on January 25, 2005. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  2. Anthony, David (2017-02-09). "The New Year announces Snow, its first album in 9 years". Music.avclub.com. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  3. "Interview: The New Year (Matt and Bubba Kadane) by Stephen Raywood". Cwas.hinah.com.
  4. "Newness Ends - The New Year | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  5. New Year Newness Ends Pitchfork Media
  6. "Interview with The New Year's Matt Kadane". Deathrockstar.club. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  7. Seida, Linda. "Chris Brokaw". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  8. "Legendary Crystal Chandelier". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  9. "Pitchfork Media review for The End is Near". Archived from the original on June 7, 2008.
  10. Allmusic review for The End is Near
  11. The End Is Near Review by Dusted Magazine (2004)
  12. ""Disease" Music Video by The New Year". YouTube.
  13. ""The End's Not Near" by The New Year". The New Year (YouTube). Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  14. "The New Year Prep New Album, Hit the Road". Exclaim.ca.
  15. The New Year at Allmusic
  16. "Matt & Bubba Kadane: The New Year". Pitchfork.com.
  17. Freedman, Pete (June 29, 2008). "Last Night: Centro-matic, The Kadane Brothers and The Theater Fire at the Granada Theater". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  18. "chris brokaw". Chrisbrokaw.com.
  19. Simmons, Abbey (2012-02-21). "Dave Bazan Has a New Band: Overseas | Sound On The Sound – A Seattle Music Blog". Soundonthesound.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  20. "David Bazan & Kadane Brothers Form Indie Super-Group". Violent Success. 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  21. Thomas, Fred (2013-06-11). "Overseas - Overseas : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  22. Thee, Marcel (July 4, 2003). "Matt Kadane Interview". Deathrockstar. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
Member sites
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