It would be dismissive to label Bedhead—one of the most (ahem) slept-on indie-rock bands of the ‘90s—as mere “slowcore pioneers,” in particular because brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane explored so much more than what would qualify as slowcore in such a brief period of time. Signed in 1993 by the Butthole Surfers’ King Coffey to his Trance Syndicate label, the adventurous five-piece stood apart from the hardcore-dominated Dallas scene with a jangly, guitar-driven sound that soaked up equal parts Texas country, basement punk, ambient post-rock and Velvet Underground—incisive, introspective, tripped-out and indie as fuck. Just as compelling were Matt Kadane’s lyrics, which roiled with deep romantic yearnings and philosophical conundrums that he often sang, as did his brother, in a subdued, Lou Reed-style drawl. By 1998, the ride was over almost as quickly as it started, but Numero Group’s lovingly prepared retrospective, which collects all three of the band’s studio albums in a definitive package (along with singles, assorted B-sides and EPs), demands extended listening. As novelist Matthew Gallaway observes in his exhaustive liner essay, Bedhead’s music comes across as “unselfconsciously beautiful,” from the dreamy guitar lines of “Bedside Table” (an early 7-inch single that was re-recorded for their 1994 debut WhatFunLifeWas) to the steadyburning “Parade” and groove-sparked “Extramundane”—both from 1998’s Transaction de Novo, tracked with Steve Albini and released just before the band broke apart from the stress of touring. The Kadane brothers moved on to found other bands (The New Year, Overseas), but these songs, youthfully innocent and strikingly powerful, linger in earnest.