The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Every Tuesday, the Sounding Board is a space for a short-ish review of a recent-ish release and conversations about new-to-you music. I’ll get things started with a write-up about a newer, likely under-heard album, and invite you to share your music musings in the comments.
You’ve almost certainly heard a few bands that sound like the Cords. Odds are good that you love, like or, at the very least, groove to the big songs from those bands that sound like the Cords, too.
The Scottish duo, composed of sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi, makes a sort of ultra-jangly, slightly dreamy indie pop that’s as cozy, comforting and familiar as a well-worn wool garment.1 Their self-titled debut, immaculately timed to coincide with crisper air and falling leaves, is 13 short and punchy takes on catchy bookstore rock that’s just begging to soundtrack whatever it is you do to savor the few, fleeting golden days remaining before a harsher, grayer reality settles in.
The Cords is chock-full of playful, sweet tunes that manage to cram some unexpected complexity into their scant runtimes.2 No one’s going to mistake the work of the Tedeschi sisters for an Adrian Belew project, but there’s enough going on to keep the LP from feeling thin or redundant. That’s no mean feat in light of their chosen genre.
While there is ample charm to be found in the melancholic whimsy of twee music, even the best bands the genre has to offer sometimes need to do something drastic, like bring in a legendary producer, to give things a shot in the arm and avoid oppressive uniformity.3 For the Cords, the extra dimension often comes from one unexpectedly rich wrinkle or another. The LP is rife with wordless harmonies — bah-bah-bahs, bah-dah-dahs, oohs and ahhs — that never stop being surprisingly pretty. Sonic variety plays a part, too.
“You” incorporates some blown-out buzz that feels like a less abrasive relative of the opening din of the Vaselines’ “Son of a Gun.” Grace Tedeschi pounds the absolute hell out of the drums throughout “Bo’s New Haircut,” in a way that makes suppressing a smile impossible. “Yes It’s True” uses swooning reverb to introduce some light psychedelia to the album. “When You Said Goodbye,” the album’s dreamiest and longest song, closes things on a wistful meta note with lyrics focused on farewells. None of these songs is a drastic departure from the album’s overall sound, but they’re easily distinguishable from one another, keep things fresh across a baker’s dozen of pop morsels and effectively convey emotion. The willingness to try different things, sing different ways and feel different feelings gives the album a scope and sense of weight shared by the best releases from the twee bands that the Tedeschis so clearly admire.4
About the writer
Ben Hohenstatt
Ben Hohenstatt is an Alaska-based dog owner who moonlights as a music writer and photographer.
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The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Department of
Conversation
I’ve got a bunch of friends who love basically any music in the twee / indiepop zone so I can find myself a little skeptical when they’re gushing over a new artist. I definitely thought the Cords album justified their praise though, the songwriting is strong and they change up their sound enough to keep things consistently interesting. I dug the noisier / slightly shoegaze-tinged tracks in particular but I’ll definitely be back for more listens to this one.
What Did We Watch?
One Battle After Another – pretty great. There are a few PTA films where I’ve come away from them feeling like I’d immediately seen a new favourite, this one didn’t quite hit that level for me but it’s an incredibly propulsive thriller with some wonderful performances and some very funny moments – I especially loved Leo getting increasingly infuriated by the password systems, which is extremely relatable in 2025 where I have to log into 8,000 things with bizarre security requirements every day. My only real complaint is that I found some of the dialogue hard to hear to begin with but that could have just been my ears or the cinema sound system, weird. Oddly it was fine after the initial time jump. Sean Penn is pretty incredible, such a perfectly odd physical performance, and I was really impressed by Chase Infiniti too. When it comes to 2025 movies directed by an Anderson and starring Benicio Del Toro, this one is easily the winner.
Had the same dialogue issues early on, weird. And agreed on the Anderson/del Toro rankings – the latter is doing what he can in Scheme but I think his character is underdeveloped, but he is perfect in Battle. And the similar broad strokes dad/daughter-wise in the movies do not do W. Anderson any favors.
The Practice, “Trench Work” – Three storylines involving four previous or ongoing cases. At last we’re done with Lindsay’s mentor Edward Herrmann’s trial, and despite literally throwing something at Judge Hiller, Lindsay gets his sentence greatly reduced. This only works because of how good Linda Hunt is. Helen, struggling with the still open case involving a murder where the only witness is a 4 year old, concocts first questionable but legal probable cause and then a definitely illegal jailhouse confession by working with Eugene, with the trade being a reduced sentence for another convicted murderer. And finally, the whole firm is sued for defamation by the man accused as part of Plan B in the Vogelman case. A lot of overwrought drama here basically showing that pretty much the whole legal world is dirty. This marks the debut of Tony Danza (uncredited for some reason) as attorney Tommy Silva, the guy handling the case against the firm, and he got a well deserved Emmy nomination. For a guy who usually plays the Tony Danza part, he was really good at drama.
Frasier, “Back Talk” – On his birthday, Frasier throws his back out. But what seems at first to be another “Frasier assesses things” turns into something as, under the influence of painkillers, tells Daphne that Niles is in love with her. The two halves of the episode don’t fit seamlessly, but do that fit, and I think everyone who’d been watching since the third episode was finally glad to be here.
Bride of Chucky – Somehow watched the first half without ever finishing and despite a few “Chucky is SO Eighties, this is the NINETIES now, grandpa” jokes, a fun, queer, mean time at the cinema. Perhaps not Jennifer Tilly’s peak but it’s pretty close, makes good use of two would-be bland teens, and has a perfect bloody “gotcha!” last shot.
Blood Simple – Makes a weird double feature with the former (watched on two separate nights) but hey, both are stylish genre flicks about (mis)trust in relationships and homicidal misunderstandings! The Coens would obviously have greater peaks and valleys. But on rewatch, the extent to which four or five people all misunderstand or misconstrue a single situation is akin to Burn After Reading or No Country, characters only getting 20 to 30 percent of the information they need to grasp what’s happening. (Even Walsh assumes Getz is playing him.) And of course it is staggeringly, beautifully shot by Sonnenfeld, one whooshing zoom-in shot is clearly borrowed from Raimi and the burial sequence is merciless, taking advantage of the red, the headlights, and the black, merciless clods of dirt.
The misconstruing in Blood Simple got my attention last rewatch, I think it’s even less clear to the characters than Burn or No Country – everyone is acting on bad or wrong info and no one comes close to understanding what went down.
No Country has TLJ who at least has the resources and power of the law to figure out what’s going on, though in Burn After Reading even the CIA has no fucking clue (“What did we learn, Palmer?”) Walsh might have similar sentiments given his laughter at the end when Abby addresses the wrong killer.
The Kids In The Hall, Season Four, Episode Four
“Two more glasses o’ goose sweat, comin’ up!”
“Bellini, of course, will only eat fish. Because that’s all Bellini ever eats.”
“You take the guy with the tattoos, and I’ll take the fish!”
“What do you do, Ed?”
“Oh, nothin’.”
“Then how do you know when you’re done? Haha… evil!”
“Still Fred, I fooled ya!”
“I’m not gonna swear about taking out the garbage!”
“I’m not having an affair! Or at least I’m innocent until proven guilty.”
(This entire conversation is actually very much like my current relationship, outside of him actually having an affair)
“I guess the only thing sadder than the happy people are the Village People.”
“Again, if i hadn’t forgotten my chart, the graph would look something like this.”
“Hey, Kyle, I got a chub on!”
“I’m doing my taxes, I’ve almost figured out a way to deduct pot.”
What Did We Listen To?
1001 Albums, etc.:
Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Rust Never Sleeps: some great songs here but the half-acoustic, half-electric format didn’t really work for me that well in terms of the flow of the album. I guess it’d make more sense on vinyl, flipping it over in the middle. Always enjoy Neil Young’s songwriting and performance style though.
Gang of Four – Entertainment!: another album where I’ve heard a million bands rip it off before getting to the source material. Really enjoyed it – punchy, angular sound.
Cheap Trick – At Budokan: “Surrender” is one of my favourite songs, I’ve always found Cheap Trick a little patchy otherwise but this is a strong live album even if I’d probably enjoy the studio recordings more in most cases.
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk: enjoyed this one a lot, more than Rumours I’d say. Reading about the recording of each track on Wikipedia is a delight, Lindsey Buckingham was having an Extremely Normal Time. One of the best examples of the “band at the peak of their powers and drug use make a weirdo double-album” thing.
Pink Floyd – The Wall: got this on now and there are some good songs but I definitely prefer the general vibe of earlier Floyd and I’m finding the concept album stuff a little grating.
Blank Check – the Ladykillers episode was a lot of fun, I enjoyed Griffin’s half-hearted attempts to defend it and Connor Ratliff is a good fun guest. Most of the way through No Country now and I think Leslye Headland has become one of my favourite guests, she has an infectious laugh and just seems like good company. Really made me want to rewatch the film too, even though it’s not been that long since I saw it.
Screen Drafts, “Mockumentary” – didn’t think this was a genre I was particularly clued up on but I ended up having seen most of the films that made the list. Fun episode with just a little chaos and I approve of the #1 pick.
Yeah, Entertainment! is low-key one of the most influential albums of it’s era, up there with Unknown Pleasures and Low in spreading a specific guitar or drum sound far and wide (sadly the band’s Marxism was not as powerful).
Yeah, Tusk > Rumours. Although Lindsey makes it all about himself, no surprise, there, “I Walk a Thin Line” is superlative. But, overall, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks have the majority of the best songs. And, wow, does it all really go off the rails (!) around 3/4 through the album.
Agreed on Christine and Stevie having most of the highlights, loved “Sara” and “Storms” in the first half and “Brown Eyes” / “Never Make Me Cry” is a gorgeous double-punch later on.
The Tusk tour doc with footage from the St. Louis stop has some great performances. Stevie’s Sisters Of The Moon is like church. She has the audience in the palm of her hand.
The Parade 2023 Broadway revival soundtrack. Parade focuses on the wrongful accusation, trial, and mob lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory supervisor accused of killing a young woman in Georgia.* Parade features some great singers (Ben Platt, Manuel Feliciano, Michaela Diamond) and is pretty gutting, not quite Assassins level but the music drips with dramatic irony, indicting the South’s romanticism and obsession with preserving it’s own bullshit image.
*One of the rare historical instances of a Black man framing a white man and almost certainly being the actual murderer.
Tried a podcast on theory, Acid Horizon, but not totally grabbing me as with many theory-based entertainments. Weird Studies’ animal songs episode however was excellent.
Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
Extremely strong–polished and incredibly well-crafted, with a ton of obvious talent. “All My Friends” is especially beautiful.
Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse
Love how “The World at Large” foreshadows and complicates “Float On”–but I’m absolutely one of those people who heard and adored “Float On” disconnected from the rest of Modest Mouse’s work, and Nath is right, it’s completely different. This is not at all the album I would expect that song to be on, but it’s very good. (Still love “Float On” and its bouncy Zen, though.) “Ocean Breathes Salty” is another highlight, and I also love the dark rollick of “The Devil’s Workday” and the chorus of “Bukowski.” But of the songs I was unfamiliar with, “Black Cadillacs” may win out–an Alpha Couple song that somehow escaped The Mountain Goats’ oeuvre.
Z, My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket is definitely one of my favorite discoveries of this list. The smooth blue tones of “It Beats for You,” melancholy but accepting! The killer intro of “Anytime,” which sweeps me up and gets me pumped. The sorrow and devastation and knowledge of “Dondante”!
Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, Young Jeezy
Young Jeezy has a great voice: slightly strained and smoky, but full of a confidence and sureness that the lyrics use well (see: “Standing Ovation”). There’s a fair amount of tonal variety here too–look at how the touch of humor in “Don’t Get Caught” fades away in the darker, more grueling “Soul Survivor,” which is also perversely catchy.
Hell Hath No Fury, Clipse
Appreciate the references on this album (“I’m Leonardo: catch me if you can”) and the additional musical touches, like the choral background in “Keys Open Doors.” My favorite song might be “Mr. Me Too,” especially for the smooth flow and cleverness in the bit that explains the title, which turns out to be a perfect put-down.
White Blood Cells, The White Stripes
Fuck me, I love The White Stripes. Knew a few songs off this album already, especially “Hotel Yorba,” which continues to be my absolute favorite (all love to my sister, who put it on a mix CD for me o so many years ago), and it was fantastic to dive into the others. They step away from their usual sound a bit here, especially on tracks like the sweetly sing-song-y “We’re Going to Be Friends,” but the variations are also strong. I also love diversions like the super-short “Little Room,” a succinct way of talking about creativity and success. My favorites are often still the bluesier tracks, though, like “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.” The last lines of “The Protector” make for an amazing closing, too.
Screen Drafts
Several episodes, but the highlight was starting in on Scorsese month: Part 1 of the draft features a truly ridiculous amount of upheaval and despair, and the World Cinema Project draft is incredible. Fuck yeah, The Color of Pomegranates (…which was the only one I’d seen, but now I’ve added all the others to the list).
Make My Day: A Clint Eastwood Podcast
The friend I did the Eastwood draft phone call with discovered this soon afterwards, so we both listened to the episode on Dirty Harry. I was not prepared for the information that Terrence Malick wrote an early draft of this movie.
I love the multipart mega-filmmaker drafts, some wild decisions made at the bottom of that Scorsese draft that I was mostly supportive of, haha.
Sound of Silver is largely a 10/10 even if I always want more breathing room in the music after “All My Friends.” (Still my finest karaoke moment.)
Year of the Month update!
Here’s a primer on some of the movies, albums, books and TV we’ll be covering for 1973 in October!
TBD: Patrick Mio Llaguno – The Long Goodbye
Oct. 14th: Bridgett Taylor: Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road
Oct. 15th: Lauren James: Working
Oct. 16th: John Bruni: Shotgun Willie/Sweet Revenge
Oct. 22nd: Lauren James: The Wicker Man
Oct. 20th: Sam Scott: Janos Vitek
Oct. 29th: Lauren James: Don’t Look Now
And this November, you can write about any of these movies, albums, books, et al from 2018!
Nov. 10th: Bridgett Taylor: Aquaman
Nov. 24th: Sam Scott: Ice Cream Man