Bedhead

Beheaded
Trance Syndicate, 1996

For a group with three guitarists, Bedhead were remarkably gentle. They were one of the slowcore bands who sprang up around North America in the early '90s – though, like most musicians, they disliked the label given to them. Perhaps they were right. For every comparison to Low, the genre's most iconic band, and each song like theirs that lulled the listener into a dream-like state, there was another that woke them up. The best track along these lines was 'The Rest Of The Day', a song about waking up depressed that began with the band's trademark vocal delivery – slow and passionless, like the drawl of a drunk man but with none of the slurring – and bloomed into euphoria. "Since there's a dead black cat scattered on my street/ I'd rather stay here under the sheets," murmured Matt Kadane, before the song suddenly shifted tempo and the guitars started to chime in sync, playing the same melody over and over for at least ten repetitions, getting a little louder and more forceful each time. Listening to it still gives me a rush of blood.

Bedhead were founded in Texas in 1991 by brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane, who had played together since they were young. They were joined by drummer Trini Martinez, bassist Kris Wheat and guitarist Tench Coxe, and released a string of gorgeous singles, EPs and three albums before breaking up seven years later. Apparently the idea behind the band was to recreate the texture of classical string instruments like the violin and viola, on which the Kadane brothers had experimented in their earlier projects, with guitars. It probably helped that they had a knack for incredible pop melodies as well. Beheaded, their second album, took eight months to mix until the band was "happy with every single second". It paid off. While their more-famous peers like Galaxie 500, Codeine and Low recorded the most recognisable songs of the slowcore sound, Bedhead made the best albums – as in, a cohesive collection of songs. After they broke up, the brothers formed The New Year with an ensemble of other underground musicians, while newcomer on the scene David Bazan picked up their gently layered guitar sound and incorporated it into his stories about falling in and out of love with girls and God under the name Pedro The Lion.