REVIEW: Macha / Bedhead, Macha Loved Bedhead (Jetset)
- Kerwin So
Bedhead was a quintet from Dallas whose quiet guitar creations rode crests of swelling dynamics to unsheathe the throbbing heart of passion within. If anyone proved a shining example of the sub-subgenre of slowcore, it was Bedhead. Although they never broke out of cult status, their following was intensely loyal, including their friends in the band Macha, who are best recognized for blending Southeast Asian sounds into songs crafted with distinctly indie rock sensibilities. Bedhead's songwriters, the Kadane brothers, were high school friends and bandmates of Macha's McKay brothers; thus, the two bands shared personal as well as musical ties. Macha Loved Bedhead is the result of Bedhead recording skeletal drum and guitar tracks, then sending them over for Macha to complete.
Fans of Bedhead will be disappointed to learn that the band has not actually reunited, but heartened to hear that this six-song EP leans heavily towards the Bedhead side of the equation. The languid ride cymbal and relaxed tempos set the stage for Macha to add their signature marimbas, electronic washes, and other minor flourishes, but the song's pace and Joshua McKay's narcoticized vocals evoke Bedhead's spirit in a way that only someone who intimately knew the band could pull off. The only place where Macha takes firm control is at the very end of "Only the Bodies Survive," which transforms a straightforward mellow rock song into a winding journey through a dense forest, populated with digital birds and primates echoing their calls at every turn. If you watch your CD player closely you'll note that this journey takes up tracks 5 through 85 and lasts several minutes. When you emerge from this time warp you land in completely alien territory, where a push-button telephone serves as the melodic base for a very agreeable cover of Cher's mega-hit "Believe." No fooling -- this is straight out of the minds of Sid and Marty Krofft. And that's a good thing.
All in all, Macha Loved Bedhead is an enjoyable half-hour, and a must for fans of either band. And if you're one of those people who must hear every version of the Cher song, then delay no longer.
