Interview: The Cords
A Conversation With Scottish Jangle Pop Duo Eva & Grace Tedeschi
Fans of Scottish jangle pop rejoice!
The future of the beloved subgenre is thriving in the talented hands of teen sister duo The Cords who joyfully channel ‘80s/‘90s indie pop and C86 influences on “Fabulist”—the impossibly catchy, high-energy single from their self-titled debut album.
“The song was written by Eva in response to someone who we had just had enough of telling lies all the time, and ridiculous ones at that! It is a cheery sounding take down and I think everyone can relate to it, which is great,” Grace Tedeschi told me for the email interview below.
“‘Fabulist’ was recorded along with other songs for our debut album at Jonny Scott’s (CHVRCHES) studio with Simon Liddell (Frightened Rabbit). It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed adding backing vocals, bass and keys to it,” Eva Tedeschi added.
The band is a recent arrival on the international pop scene, but they’ve already shared stages with many legends.
That list includes The Vaselines, Camera Obscura, Belle and Sebastian, BMX Bandits, and The Pastels, among others. They have upcoming dates booked around the UK/Europe to celebrate the album’s Sept. 26 release (Slumberland Records/Skep Wax).
“I sometimes can't quite believe it! We have opened for some of the most amazing bands and shared the stage performing with them too,” Eva said.
“We are extremely grateful to everyone who has asked us to get on board as we have had so many amazing gigs,” Grace concurs.
I caught up with the Tedeschi sisters by email to discuss their debut album, whether or not they’ll be touring America, and some of their favorite Scottish indie artists.
Eva and Grace Tedeschi Interview
Congrats on the tremendous debut album.
Eva Tedeschi: Thank you very much, Steve! We are both super excited about our debut album and can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
Songs are often described as a dialog between musicians. Do you think that's true? Does being siblings color your musical dialog?
Eva Tedeschi: Yeah, you could say that, but I don’t think it is something we are conscious of. I think being sisters, we are so in tune with each other anyway and it just flows.
Grace Tedeschi: Sometimes we will both have the same idea at the same time and sit and play and it works perfectly, not sure if that is because we are sisters or not but I feel like we have such a closeness that it must impact it.
Diving into tracks from the debut album, I was really drawn to the energy of "October." Was there a specific inspiration for that song?
Eva Tedeschi: I wrote “October” in October just after our Granny had been admitted to hospital unwell. It is about spending Autumn in the village where she lived and memories of always looking for the crunchiest leaves to stand on.
Grace Tedeschi: Yeah, and about how it’s not gone—it’s still there but just not the same anymore. Happy and sad!
The album also includes two tracks from your 2024 single, "Bo's New Haircut" and "Rather Not Stay." Did you rerecord those songs for the new album? If so, did anything change between versions?
Eva Tedeschi: We didn't rerecord the singles for the album, but when we listened to it all together there was a difference in sound, so Jonny remastered them for us.
Grace Tedeschi: It's not hugely different sounding from the cassette, but there are subtle differences which makes them sit better with the rest of the album.
You've already played shows with many legends. What is it like sharing the stage with some of your musical heroes?
Eva Tedeschi: I talk about it often, but Grant McPhee’s Postcards from Scotland book launch gig was a really special one for us. Getting to perform along with David Keegan for two shows still blows my mind. Along with Katy Lironi, Douglas McIntyre, Duglas T. Stewart, Andrew Tully, Angus McPake, and Fran Schoppler. It was just such an amazing experience that I don't think I'll ever forget.
Grace Tedeschi: Yeah, I agree with Eva that one was very special and so cool. I think it's really quite unbelievable sometimes, like opening for The Pastels was completely insane! We love them so much and never ever imagined we would be opening for them one day.
Getting back to the new album, I really like the dreamy closing track "When You Said Goodbye." Is there a story behind that one?
Eva Tedeschi: Well, yes, it's obviously a song about heartache and losing someone that you thought was special, but also about losing all the things that were shared together and the sadness of it all. It's actually my favourite Cords song ever!
Grace Tedeschi: It's really great that we made something good out of something that was really sad at the time. Again, I think people can relate to it.
What's next for The Cords? Will you be touring the U.S.?
Eva Tedeschi: We would absolutely love to tour the U.S. and really hope we can, but not sure when that would be as it’s very expensive. For now, we have our album launch tour coming up which looks like it's going to be amazing! We have some great support on these dates and I think it will be really good gigs. After that we nearly have another album written and hope to be back recording soon.
Grace Tedeschi: No grand plan really, just keeping on going. Hopefully lots more gigs and lots more music and lots of making folk happy! We would love to come to the U.S., so fingers crossed that can happen. So many great bands that we would love to come and play with!
Any other emerging Scottish acts you think we should check out?
Eva Tedeschi: Yes! We are both huge Homework fans and lucky to have them open for us on our last night of our tour. They are amazing and for fans of Pavement, Kiwi Jr.
Grace Tedeschi: Raveloe is singer/songwriter Kim Grant. She is such an amazing songwriter, and her vocal is so enchanting. Also Rhadika who is another fantastic singer/songwriter with great pop songs!
Great interview and thanks for the intro! 🎶❤️🔥🤘🏻
Dude, this band is right up my alley! Love it!