How many times have you heard a band described as genuinely “unsettling” to listen to? In all honesty, this scribe in question has probably described a few in writing as such. Well, more than likely those acts cannot come even close to the nauseating realism, punishing content and sonic barrage of New York’s Couch Slut over the last few years.
The Couch Slut experience is an ultimately uncomfortable and at times horrifying endeavour, perhaps most notably, due to abrasive lyrical content more often than not rooted from genuine experience – as ever exemplified on the brand new album, You Could Do It Tonight (Brutal Panda Records).
Where Couch Slut largely fit into the arena of Noise Rock, their sound carries a dizzying palette encompassing a wider range of styles and paces. Album opener “Couch Slut Lewis” commences with piercing feedback and a rumbling bassline introducing a mid-pace and a sound reminiscent of Sludge Metal and the harsher end of Grunge.
“Ode To Jimbo” is about as straightforward and easing as a Clouch Slut song can be: a punchy, harsh Noise Rock frenzy and being a tribute to vocalist Megan Osztrosits’ favourite bar.
It is largely the sheer harrowing experiences of the band, perhaps most prominently of aforementioned vocalist Osztrosits, which brings forth the sheer horror over their discography, including recalled experiences of abuse and self-harm.
“Wilkinson’s Sword”, for example, is (relatively) musically a straightforward and driving vehicle for Osztrosit’s recounting of cutting. In terms of reality, the crawling and eerie “Laughing And Crying” marries the experience of drummer Theo Nobel being held in an in-house robbery with a fictional tale of a home invasion on Christmas Eve (replete with a strong case for the creepiest use of Christmas bells in recorded music).
Finally, album closer “The Weaversville Home For Boys” perfectly showcases the band’s range in songwriting, as well as a truly haunting tale and in part local urban legend, part distressing reality. Initially almost minimalist but rumbling and driving, the combination of building instrumentation and shocking atmosphere conjures a truly outlandish and wearing composition.
Over around a decade, Couch Slut have, perhaps, been a cult following act with a sonic presence like no other and a brilliant consistency in quality. With their first foray into Europe soon to commence clearly, a wider audience is soon to encounter them and those people are not quite ready for how distressing and striking they are.
You Could Do It Tonight is a hugely visceral and uncomfortable listen, without any hyperbole. An essential experience.
Buy the album here
https://couchslut.bandcamp.com/album/you-could-do-it-tonight
8 / 10
CHRIS TIPPELL