Couch Slut: Doing It Right

Brooklyn, New York City-based noise unit COUCH SLUT have just released their fearsome new album You Could Do It Tonight and it sees the band reach new levels of sonic filth with their direct and foreboding music. To mark the release of this brilliant record, we caught up with drummer/percussionist Theo Nobel, bassist Kevin Hall and guitarist Amy Mills to hear all about it. 

We start off with COUCH SLUT telling us about how they feel about You Could Do It Tonight and it’s sound with Kevin stating, “with the music of COUCH SLUT, I was always drawn to this idea of almost like a dialectical thing happening with the music. If we have a really ugly part, it’s calling for a response that’s maybe not as ugly, like some kind of like resolution, or something pretty happens. I feel like, because of that, it feels like the most fully realised statement so far by the band.” 

COUCH SLUT worked with Ben Greenberg from UNIFORM on the album and Theo enthuses about the experience. “It was awesome. Ben has everything figured out, and all we have to do is show up and play our songs, so we would get to the studio set up, spend an hour or something, getting sounds, and then just playing. It was very, very quick and very painless. Everything just worked straight away!” Kevin continues, “when we first recorded with him, he was like, I know what your band is supposed to sound like!”

Theo then details the guests who feature on You Could Do It Tonight. “We’ve got friends like Zach Ezrin and Steve Blanco from IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT, just friends of ours that we thought it would be really satisfying to have involved.” Kevin adds, “yeah, Doug from PYRRHON too, their guitarist Dylan is one of the guitar players too.” 

Talk then turns to how the music of COUCH SLUT has evolved since they started, seeing as this is their fourth album, with Kevin divulging that “it’s gotten more complex. It feels like it’s fermented into something more unique than it was at its inception. I have a hard time thinking of bands that sound like sound like us or feel like us when I listen to them.” 

Theo then reveals where he thinks the music of COUCH SLUT will go in the future. “I’m not sure, but I would expect things to remain weird or possibly get weirder!” 

With their first ever appearance in Europe happening at Roadburn Festival, Kevin tells us how excited the band are to be playing there. “I think I’ve wanted to do Roadburn since we started the band, certainly, since we put out our first record. We’ve always wanted to play overseas and to finally have that opportunity is really gratifying. I am glad that it’s connected to the release of the album, then we’ll perform it in full the following day.” 

With that said, Kevin tells us about playing You Could Do It Tonight in full and if it will be a challenge. “I’m certainly looking forward to it, I do think it’ll be a challenge, because it won’t be just performing eight rock and roll songs like we do at practice, it’ll be a little bit more involved in that, and there’ll be some elements that we haven’t tried before.” 

As it is their first time playing in Europe, the band tell us what their plans are over here aside from playing live with Theo telling us, “I’m looking forward to eating some cheese, and maybe checking out the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House.” Kevin adds, “I’ve never been to Amsterdam before, so I think that after Roadburn, we’re going to go to Amsterdam for a day or two,” before Amy concludes “we go to France afterwards for a few days as well.” 

Theo then adds ecstatically, “you know, I’m excited to just be there with the band. We’re not typically goal oriented, or maybe not at all goal oriented, but I’ve definitely thought to myself over the years, it would be really nice to play in Europe with my band.” 

When asked if there would be further European and hopefully UK dates this year, Theo was hopeful. “I think we’d love to, and if that opportunity presents itself, you know, I think, we’ll all be up for that.” 

With COUCH SLUT describing their music as putrid, drug fuelled gutter rock from the filthy streets of NYC, talk turns to the influence of the underbelly of New York on their music with Theo stating, “we all feel some sort of identification or intimacy with the No-Wave scene that was happening here with bands like SWANS. There aren’t that many bands that we all agree on, but early Swans is one.” Kevin adds, “although we have been based in New York for New York City, and, more specifically, Brooklyn for our entire existence, it can’t not have had any impact. Maybe it has something to do with paying attention to what’s immediately in front of you, the East Coast urban environment, we’re not wandering around in the woods, thinking about eternity and playing polite music!” 

We finish things off with COUCH SLUT with Theo telling us about the unique nature of the band’s music. “I think that what we’re communicating musically and what Megan is communicating with her lyrics is something that’s unique to us.” One listen to the brilliant You Could Do It Tonight and you can definitely agree how true that is. 

You Could Do It Tonight is out now via Brutal Panda Records.

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