Couch Got Off the Couch and Into the Studio
Couch sure is getting Boston off their couch and on their dance floors! That was the corniest intro I’ve ever written, but in all seriousness, Boston-native Couch has finally released their debut album after a string of successful EPs, singles, and tour openings.
Couch is comprised of Tema Siegel (lead vocals), Zach Blankstein (guitar), Jared Gozinsky (drums), Will Griffin (bass), Danny Silverston (keys), Jeffrey Pinsker-Smith (trumpet) and Eric Tarlin (saxophone), which is quite the crowd the wrangle together. Evidently so, considering they didn’t create physically together for the first 3ish years of the band. Forming remotely in 2019, Couch was a conglomerate of 7 high school and college friends simply sending music back and forth, developing melodies and instrumentations over audio messages, FaceTime, and Zoom. By 2020, the band had further solidified their virtual means of production as Covid forced everyone inside and online, yielding 6 successful singles before ever creating in person together. Finally in 2022, 3 years after they’d formed, Couch was able to sit on the same couch and write in the same room. Since then, the band has found pretty impressive success, releasing two sonically self-assured EPs and consequentially touring with artists like Sammy Rae, Lake Street Dive, and St. Paul & The Broken Bones. With quite some wind beneath their wings, on October 24 of this year, Couch dropped their debut album Big Talk, and it’s basically a solid continuation of a sound they’ve got down pat.
Big Talk album cover
Big Talk opens with “On The Wire,” an upbeat funk-pop full sound to drive us headfirst into the album–a Big sound indeed. The basslines in this band–ever moving and ever swanky–are quite possibly my favorite part of their sound, and this song is a perfect example of this. “On The Wire” is coated with warm brass sections, exciting percussion, and a vocalist carrying the weight of it all with an absolute zeal. It’s a bright start to Big Talk.
“One Night” follows and again it’s a continuation of that bright, warm brass-driven sound, but with a slightly less funky percussion section. “Slow Burn” brings a slower, R&B smoothness to the album with a main melody pulling the piano and trumpet forward like sweet molasses as a snare hits unobtrusively. The vocal layering in this song really fills the chorus’s sound, and God can she riff.
“What Were You Thinking” follows and we’re back to a more upbeat, swanky vibe. The trumpet really shines in this song and the drums sit beneath the chorus in a really fun way. This song slightly feels of the “Target commercial” variety to me, but, unpopular opinion, I think that’s just fine. It’s fun!
“Window” is next on Big Talk and it’s a great switch up from the album’s current established sound. With an almost bossa-nova-esque guitar part to start and a responsive breathy, soft vocal, I think this one instantly becomes my favorite at the sheer freshness it invokes. (Side note: I’m obsessed with the vocal flip up on the “neighbor of mine//window of mine” line… really scratches an itch for me.) This song is so strong, each part accents the other smoothly. Each part enters in such a demure fashion it creates a beautifully layered sound. Before you can even realize it, you're being whisked away on a pillow of light strings and golden lush horns, just to be gently placed back into that acoustic guitar picking.
“Little Less Over You” starts with bouncy synths, staccato piano tinges, and an addictive little ah-ah and snap. I like the lyrics and the horn section a lot in this song, and I’d argue “Little Less Over You” has got my favorite vocal moments of the album so far.
“Middle Man” is their pop-iest sound so far on the album, which is super fun (I’m abusing the word fun in this review, I know, but it’s all-encapsulating to Couch). Lyrically it’s tempting sapphic and sonically it’s a Calvin-Harris-reminiscent, major-chord-bursting dance pop anthem–get off the couch to this one!
“Transparent” comes next and it’s somehow a drawling but upbeat tune. The bridge builds well and the pulling vocals, breathy oohing and aahing atop the instrumentation in that section, was really scratching an itch for me. I’m starting to find all their upbeat sounds are fusing together in my mind, the greatest variation comes when they slow down for a moment and build gradually.
We get a more R&B sound from “Lucky To Be Stuck With You” which I think fits the vocalist’s voice so well and is something I’d love to hear more from her. The sudden burst of sound from the horns and sax that propels us into a well layered Verse 2 is so good. While “Window” is as of now still my favorite (strings enthusiast here), “Lucky To Be With You” is the best the band has sounded and I’d love to hear more of exactly this from them.
“Static and Noise” is good, it’s great. But it’s kind of just static and noise amidst the rest of the album. Not a skip, just not sticking out.
“So Myself” closes out a successful debut album and holy vocals. This is Tema at her best on the album and it is easily the best part of the song. The chorus is such a great release of sound reverberating throughout. It’s an all-encompassing sound end to the album, a perfect balance of the bouncy upbeat that’s bopped us onto our feet, and the melodic smooth drawling that’s coaxed us deeper into the couch.
Couch is oh so fun, as I’ve reiterated and regurgitated all throughout this review, and perhaps I’m just a sucker for a melancholic bop, but I think the only thing they’re lacking is greater depth. These are exquisite musicians who clearly know their sound–and it’s an objectively great one at that. The album and their greater discography is incredibly solid, and if you’re into the likes of Sammy Rae, Vulfpeck, Melt, or even Olivia Dean (vocally speaking mostly), Couch is a great addition to your playlists. If you already like Couch, I’d recommend you try the slightly more jazzy Claire Ernst (Flowers is particularly strong).
Couch takes funk pop as its absolute truth; while that’s super amusing, I also would love to feel a greater sincerity and seriousness at times in their music–sometimes I feel the lyrics and the instrumentations are in an emotional battle with one another. “Slow Burn,” “Window,” and “Let Me Hold You” (from prior EP Sunshower), are great steps towards said sincerity, and they’re proof you can maintain a fun sound while also poking at a greater depth, whereas “One Night” and “Static and Noise” leaves me slightly unconvinced. There’s nothing wrong with being a primarily upbeat band, especially when you’re floating among the funk-pop genre, but I’d love to see them lean more towards some R&B sounds (“Lucky To Be Stuck With You”) for more variation and less borderline “Target commercial” generic sounds. That being said: get off the couch and get to their live shows, because they’re incredible live and they just came out with a bunch of great songs that you’re going to want to be around for.
Couch live at Gramercy Theatre NYC, 10/15/2022