The Late Cord
song: "My Most Meaningful Relationships Are With Dead People"
One Track Mind :: Philadelphia City Paper. 25 Years of Independent Journalism.
Enigmatic Texans Micah P. Hinson and John Mark Lapham (aka The Late Cord) are longtime buddies enrolled at two different schools of multi-instrumental thought: Hinson's the folklore-quoting straight man, while every one of his partner's barely audible electro-samples screams 'decode me.' Regardless of the pair's inclinations, the beauty of 'Dead People,' from Lights From the Wheelhouse (4AD), lies in what they don't do. As the track begins, Hinson breathes on piano keys with all the complexity of a scale exercise, but that doesn't mean he skimps on the gravitas. When he shows a bit of life, Lapham follows suit, complementing each somber note with sitarlike sounds that may or may not be leaking out of a Casio keyboard. 'Is it too far gone to be saved?' Hinson wonders, backed by smatters of eerie chanting. 'It's so remarkable that you found your own way.'