Another new year, no new album from The New Year. That’s how it’s gone for four straight Januaries, and that ever-widening recording void—combined with a dearth of live activity—has fostered suspicions that the band that emerged from the ashes of ’90s slowcore pillar Bedhead had quietly gone the way of its predecessor. But now, virtually without warning, arrives The New Year’s eponymous third LP, a sure signal brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane remain at least semi-committed to the project they launched nearly a decade ago.
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Despite the long layoff, The New Year doesn’t deviate dramatically from past efforts Newness Ends and The End Is Near, which is welcome news. There’s more piano present (“The Company I Can Get,” “MMV,” “Body and Soul”), but three-guitar interplay still drives unhurried mini-epics packed with far more emotion than Matt Kadane’s detached voice and uncomplicated lyrics seem capable of evoking.
Individually, nothing’s on the level of Bedhead classics like “Bedside Table” or “The Rest of the Day,” but there’s still plenty to enjoy. “Seven Days and Seven Nights” builds to a glimmering, instrumental finish. “X Off Days” and “The Door Opens” drive hard and fast—by New Year standards—start to finish. And “The Idea of You” simmers briefly before rocketing off with a frenzied chorus that begins, strangely, “I can’t keep calling my mother!” More than enough to keep fans satisfied through a few more rounds of “Auld Lang Syne.”
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