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. We’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.
A lot of this year’s most enjoyable music sounds like it was released by the coolest bands of the 1980s. The Loft take that trend to its illogical conclusion with their debut album, Everything Changes Everything Stays the Same, by actually being a cool band from the 1980s.1
The Loft were one of the first bands signed to Creation Records, and put out some well-received singles on the extremely influential label that would eventually be home to Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, and Teenage Fanclub, among others. However, the Loft imploded in spectacular fashion — mid-song, on-stage, on the last night of a nationwide tour, in front of a few thousand people — before releasing a proper album. Nearly 40 years after that dramatic breakup, the English quartet’s original lineup reunited and finally bashed out a full-fledged LP with Sean Read of Dexys Midnight Runners fame producing.2 The end result is the year’s second-most surprising comeback album and a joy to listen to.3
Everything Changes Everything Stays the Same consists of ten timeless guitar-driven pop songs that would make for a helluva debut LP in any year. They would have sounded great in 1985, and they sound improbably fresh approximately four decades later. That’s partially due to melodies that feel instantly comfortable without being contrived. There’s plenty of songs about getting wasted and wasting time, but none of them combine bleakly observational lyrics, bright lead guitar, and a catchy chorus quite like de facto title track “Ten Years.” Its lyrics about squandered decades also carry extra weight with knowledge that Peter Astor could be singing from credible experience.
The album’s evergreen quality is also because Everything Changes Everything Stays the Same reaches back to eras outside of the Loft’s ’80s heyday for its most prevalent sounds. “Ten Years” is also a great example of that quality, with a bridge and modest guitar solo that the Beatles would’ve been proud to have on Rubber Soul. Album-opener “Feel Good Now,” which plays heavily with the idea that drinking is borrowing happiness from tomorrow, is the sort of hummable sadsack character study the Davies brothers were pumping out circa 1966. “Do the Shut Up” imagines an undignified, and likely heartbroken, exit as a dance craze sweeping the nation, complete with instructions: “Step to the line and kiss the ground/ Swallow your voice and turn around again/Do the shut up/And crawl away.” Lyrically, it’s the kind of pisstake of and participation in rock ’n’ roll’s earliest traditions that Jonathan Richman loves. Musically, it’s more in line with something like “What Katie Did” by the Libertines, which similarly observes early ’60s rock through a lens that’s been heavily coated in U.K.-sourced petroleum jelly. Later decades are mined, too. “Somersaults” is a gorgeous tune with syrupy-sweet guitar stings that channel late-’70s Television. That would be enough to build a song around, but the Loft have enough hooks to spare that they’re merely an insanely pretty complementary piece.
Every song on the album boasts some similarly exultant moment, whether it’s a nifty harmony, fun guitar interplay, wry lyric or a weary sentiment wrapped in sunny sounds, and detailing each one would be excessive.4 Taken as a whole, it’s irrefutable that Everything Changes Everything Stays the Same is an album made by great lovers of 20th-century guitar pop. It seems likely that it will be cherished by similarly minded listeners, and it’s out-and-out pleasant enough to be enjoyed by everyone else.
About the writer
Ben Hohenstatt
Ben Hohenstatt is an Alaska-based dog owner who moonlights as a music writer and photographer.
For more information, consult your local library or with parental permission visit his website.
Tags for this article
More articles by Ben Hohenstatt
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
What did we watch?
Kids In The Hall, Season Two, Episode Seventeen
– “Man, sometimes I hate being a cop.” / “Why?” / “That’s my car.”
– “Can I call you David?” / “Well, my name’s Paul.”
– “I sure wouldn’t mind giving her about two and half inches of, uh, God’s finest.”
– There’s more serialised sketches this season. There’s another Touch Paul Bellini sketch.
– “Thanks. I got the hooker vote.”
– “Said the F word. Five pounds, seven ounces, now he says the F word.”
– “Bob, you don’t know anyone in the ocean!”
– “My parents couldn’t handle my truth, so I had to point out the hypocrisy of their lives.”
– The tiny gag of spraying down where Lyle was sitting made me laugh.
– “If I’m the air traffic controller around here, he’s grounded.”
Someone’s gonna get a thousand dollars…
Severance, “Good News About Hell” and “Half Loop”
Rewatching the first season (which I very much liked) before heading into season two. There’s a slight subversion of a common SF trope here, which I really appreciate, and that’s Helly beginning to discover that her “docile” colleagues aren’t necessarily any more sheeplike than she is, they’ve just tried all this already. Science fiction has a lot of bold, decisive thinkers who, as the great Gardner Dozois pointed out, suddenly topple dystopias with one weird trick that’s just somehow never occurred to anyone else; here, Helly has to start facing the uncomfortable idea that she’s not the first would-be revolutionary at Lumon, it’s just that all the others have been beaten down and have switched over into “survive and make the best of it” mode.
I always appreciate how deeply weird Lumon is (the art! The icebreaker party where you have to come up with interesting information about your lack of a life!), and how that weirdness inflects the innies–there’s some slightly Lobster-esque dialogue here, the kind you’d believably get with people who only exist in this extremely controlled, extremely strange space.
And two quotes: “I’m your best friend. You’re my very good friend” and “Aww, did the prowler invading my home make you feel seen?”
Sister Midnight – I saw the trailer for this last week and it kinda promises a more propulsive, fast-paced experience than the actual film delivers (I just rewatched it and it is HEAVY on images from the last act of the movie when more stuff is happening). For the most part it’s a slow-burn anti-rom-com set in Mumbai, with the protagonist immediately discovering that her arranged marriage is a disaster and that she is now stuck in an unfamiliar city where she knows nobody apart from her new husband who isn’t interested in spending time with her. It develops into some deeply odd, horror-adjacent territory as it goes on, and the lead performance helps the early stages from dragging too much, although I definitely felt my patience tested just a little. It’s a unique film though, it looks great, it’s frequently funny and regularly surprising so I’m very glad to have seen it even if the odd pacing left me with a couple of disclaimers.
Matlock S1E1 – Joining the Captain and embracing my inner geriatric. The show is explicitly anticipating my defense mechanisms here, making the younger characters similarly dismissive of another lawyer named Matlock, and I don’t like being lumped in with them rather than the cool professionals who remember Matlock (and all the other 80s/90s shows name dropped), certainly I’m not going to measure up to Kathy Bates, one of the most reliable actors out there. Part of me wishes I didn’t know the episode’s big twist and part of me is glad because it gave me a different lens on the rest of it, which was a fine if a little silly courtroom mystery (my wife, who did not know the twist, was delighted by it, having preloaded a “do we need more weekly courtroom BS”speech before the final turn). Now it seems we’ll get our silly cake and more – we’ll certainly be checking out more, this is quite promising.
It was also an interesting watch because it made me realize how little network TV I see anymore. We spend a lot of time around these parts dissecting and complaining (not without cause) about streaming shows, the so-called Prestige TV. Watching this is kind of like reading nothing but book prize shortlisters, getting sick of them, then picking up an airport novel and remembering, oh yeah, these have their own glaring problems and contrivances that the Prestige was pushing back against in the first place. But what they also have is the mandate to deliver the goods chapter by chapter, and I’m certainly looking forward to that.
Maaaaaatlock!
The twist definitely adds a lot of fun and dramatic tension to the series, but I also dug it right from the jump, when Matty cons her way into the partner meeting. I love shit like that.
I like that they’re still so unthreatened by Matlock that they don’t call for security but banter with her for a while. Very efficient storytelling! We’ve got our character down pat (or DO we…), we’re introduced to the main supporting cast, there’s time for some shenanigans on the way to the big case and a side quest around the Thanksgiving weekend that furthers the serialized story.
Grimsburg, “CrimeCon”
Flute is annoyed that the audience at CrimeCon is more interested in the serial killers than the cops who catch them. So he’s set to prove that the cannibal serial killer who’s changed, man, really hasn’t. Wynona has her suspicions too, but each of them are worried that partnering up might turn them into… work friends.
And we get a good B-plot for Pentos, who takes his class on a field trip to CrimeCon, only to discover… he has fans from his crime days. Specifically, “Pentostonix,” the five-person a capella Pentos-fan group. So he has to balance his responsibilities as a teacher with trying to impress them.
Anyway, I quite liked this one. Has anyone even considered checking this out yet?
The Great North, “Can’t Hardly Debate Adventure”
Dert has been clandestinely working at the Lone Moose High lunch room (as in, she just showed up one day and acted like she worked there), because she has a crush and is pretty sure she’s getting some kind of signals from a cafeteria lady named Gloria. Then she gets caught by the principal, who cuts her a deal to offer her a for-real job there if she coaches the debate team to a victory against his hated wiener private school rival principal at Juneau Horse Prep. (I think that’s what the school is called.) Anyway, I had a good time with this story, as Dert’s debate tactics lead to a lot of hilarious belligerence.
Meanwhile, Wolf tries to impress his dad. Also, Honeybee confirms Wolf’s age as 22, which I think is the first time, five seasons in, we’ve actually gotten confirmation on it.
Boat gag: Death of a Sails-Man
Shirt gag: The Gas-t of Us
I Think You Should Leave, “You sure about that? You sure about that’s why?”
Brian and his stupid hat. Also, Bob McDuff Wilson and Biff Wiff have passed away. 🙁
What did we listen to?
New Sensations, Lou Reed
Reed has become a comfort listen for me by this point – new information, but also solidly predictable (your occasional Metal Machine Music aside), with each album being smoother and better crafted than the last.
Tug Of War, Paul McCartney
This guy has also become a comfort listen for me, though for the exact opposite reason – his music is constantly playful and joyful, especially when he’s on his own. He’s not as ridiculous as Bob Dylan about it, but in his own way, McCartney is also a constant genre-hopper, never settling down to any one thing, even within one song.
Atom Heart Mother, Pink Floyd
This has them stumbling towards their much larger ambitions with the twenty minute sound collage that opens and 13 minute sound collage that ends it, with some weak songs in the middle.
Eyes Wide Open, Sabrina Carpenter
As I expected, the opposite of a comfort listen – I respect the sheer talent that went into this and the staggering production, but I was halfway through and thought “Jesus, I’m still listening to this.”
I never liked AHM too much. It is messy. But yeah, there was a bright future ahead for these lads. Iconic cover though.
Captain Nath’s top 40 of 2024, where I actually gel especially well with the lower end of the selections: clearly I should just take recommendations for all the music Nath really likes but doesn’t quite love. Particular favorites: “Lithonia,” “Sunshine Getaway,” “Dramamine,” “A Fragile Thing,” “Street Fighter,” “She Don’t Care About Fine Dining,” “Vertigo,” “Cardinal,” and (because I’m a human person) “Not Like Us.”
A disproportionate amount of my music listening is “how can I twist this into inspiring me to work on or at least daydream about a current writing project?”, so it’s always a nice change to listen to something where I haven’t mentally synched it to anything yet. Ben’s reviews do me the same favor.
… And then I selfishly twist it all to my own purposes eventually, but at least I’m still listening and enjoying.
Huh, my reply disappeared.
This sounds like a quasi-endorsement, but, who am I kidding, I’m always happy when people check out something I recommend.
I think Middle Kids have some songs even better than “Dramamine” – like “Highlands,” one of the best power-pop songs of 2023. And Beach Bunny has a new single out, although at this point I still like “Vertigo” better.
It’s a very real endorsement! I just thought it was funny that so many of my favorites were from the bottom half of the list–but then, there’s no arguing with the greatness of “Cardinal,” “Vertigo,” and “Not Like Us.”
I’ll definitely have to check out “Highlands” and the new Beach Bunny single. I’ve got your 2023 playlist all ready for a listen, too. (And I checked out some of the also-rans from 2024, like the awesome surprise new Johnny Cash song.)
It’s funny how time already changes some of these things. I feel like “Love of a Girl” has been steadily sliding downward for me since its initial placement, and now if I made the list, I’d probably replace it with “Magnetic.”
(Also, if you add that song plus the final cuts and special mentions to the list, you get an even 60. I kinda want to put “People Watching” on there as well, though.)
I like “Love of a Girl,” but I can see that. The “Well, as a matter of fact, I ain’t really doing half bad” line really sticks with me, though–something about the funny combination of ruefulness and cheerfulness. (Though it’s chased with “I was out running errands from early till half-past four,” which for me would be a huge downer, honestly. I’d be doing at least three-quarters bad if I’d been running errands for most of the day.)
I don’t dislike it, but I feel like what seemed fun and rollicking at first felt more and more gimmicky the longer in time I had to listen to it.
I had maybe a similar experience vis-a-vis bottom half vs upper half of the list, but some of that might be because I was a (very) little more familiar with songs in the upper than the lower, and the lower had more off-beat stuff that was surprising.
Hmm, that’s probably true. Wasn’t really by intention, because I definitely enjoy the off-beat stuff. But a lot of my favorite stuff this year was just more traditionally-structured pop-rock or rap, I guess, and a few popular songs were good enough to be favorites. But I still love the off-kilter groove of “Zero Sum” or the thrash of “In the Wawa” or the whatever the hell “She Don’t Care About Fine Dining” is.
I’m a little disappointed neither of you mentioned the pure ownage of “Imouhar,” though.
Lauren right now: https://i.imgur.com/Dx9cDlM.png
This is accurate.
1001 Albums, etc.
“Tubular Bells”, Mike Oldfield – pretty fantastic! I had it in my head that the whole thing was basically the part used in the Exorcist looping and evolving but this actually has some pretty wild ideas and a fun sense of humour. It lost me a little towards the end in some proggy noodling but the part where Vivian Stanshall from the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band appears to introduce each instrument is a delight.
“A Wizard / A True Star”, Todd Rundgren – a manic “here’s absolutely all the ideas I have” explosion of one-minute songs and medleys that I didn’t enjoy as much as the previous Rundgren on the list, but of every album on the list so far this one felt like it most needed multiple listens to get a grip on, so I’ll hopefully find time to do that at some point.
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, Elton John – I’ve never been a big Elton fan really so I was surprised how much I enjoyed this, aside from the faux-Jamaican song which is just embarrassing. The production is gorgeous and there are plenty of great rock songs to balance out the ballads – I was expecting to hate Candle in the Wind but that’s through over-exposure to the Princess Di rewrite, the original isn’t as treacly.
“Countdown to Ecstacy”, Steely Dan – too much jazzy soloing stopped me from really getting into this one, the harmonies are great and I enjoyed a couple of the songs but again I preferred the earlier album on the list. Also for a band who are lauded for their lush production, this did NOT sound as good as the Elton John album.
“Honky Tonk Heroes”, Waylon Jennings – straightforward country music, not really my thing but pleasant enough and over in less than 30 minutes so pretty painless.
Um… not a lot new of late, ’cause I haven’t been getting out and about enough. Maybe I need to put the radio on at home more often.
But, recently, there have been new singles from Matt Berninger, Fontaines D.C., Sparks, and personal favorite Momma, so that’s cool. And I took a little time to start putting together the new stuff I’ve heard in 2025 for further evaluation.
Gonna have to check this out, I played a gig with Pete Astor last year and enjoyed his solo stuff but I’m not really familiar with his indiepop band origins.
Year of the Month update!
This April, we’ll be looking at 1999, so you can write about any of these movies, albums, books, et al!
TBD: James Williams: 10 Things I Hate About You
Apr. 7th: J. “Rodders” Rodriguez: The Scooby Doo Project
Apr. 8th: Bridgett Taylor: …One More Time
Apr. 18th: Cameron Ward: The Mummy
Apr. 28th: Tristan J. Nankervis: The Sixth Sense
And here’s how we’re wrapping up Silent Era Month!
Mar. 27th: Sam Scott: Peter and Wendy
Mar. 30th: Lauren James: The Well of Loneliness
Mar. 31st: John Anderson: The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog