The Couch

Feature on Spinner.com - Spinner

"Jangly rhythm guitars, a dance-y pop hook, blazing guitar solos, and a female vocalist who’s not afraid to really belt that fucker out" - MTV Hive

"“Kaiser” starts off quite similarly to “I Turn My Camera On” by Spoon, establishing that nice mid-tempo groove, but as soon as Houser’s voice begins The Couch establish something quite different from their Austin forefathers. The closest comparison to Houser’s distinctive singing style is Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond. She’s got the same full, emotive alto that The Couch use to great effect on this track. Around the 3:15 mark, the band is unleashed and Taylor Wilkins rips the longest guitar solo of The Couch’s short career for the last minute of the song." - OVRLD

Show review, album review, singles review - Austin Fusion Magazine

show preview - Ultra8201

Show preview for The Couch Singles' Release - Austin Town Hall

KUT's Austin Music Minute with Laurie Gallardo - KUT

"A bluesy, brisk, bottoms-up jangle, essentially just a floorspace Sara Houser’s wonderfully raw voice." - PrefixMag

"Then you're treated to the stomping-good, neo-classic "The Way You Came", then the radio-friendly, vox-harmonizing "Close To You". Shift a bit, 'cause next up is "New Roman Buffalo", a bluesy thrash-happy rocking piece, with some slower, intimately-pining sections. "Farhan" and "DOKAT" give some serious guitar-slamming sections, and the rest of the tracks walk the bluesy, pop line, all up to the high standards set by the previous tracks. Special mentions: "Milk Thistle" for some exceptional rocking riffs, and "Indian Doctor" for it's creatively-constructed perc lines, string, and harmonizing parts that break away from the blues mold without destroying the blues feel. " - Austin Independent Music

"Then you're treated to the stomping-good, neo-classic "The Way You Came", then the radio-friendly, vox-harmonizing "Close To You". Shift a bit, 'cause next up is "New Roman Buffalo", a bluesy thrash-happy rocking piece, with some slower, intimately-pining sections. "Farhan" and "DOKAT" give some serious guitar-slamming sections, and the rest of the tracks walk the bluesy, pop line, all up to the high standards set by the previous tracks. Special mentions: "Milk Thistle" for some exceptional rocking riffs, and "Indian Doctor" for it's creatively-constructed perc lines, string, and harmonizing parts that break away from the blues mold without destroying the blues feel. " - Austin Independent Music

"...when you hear The Couch, you hear raw, rich, rock n' roll-- rock as solid as stone, in its sound and in its frequency." - Bleach Online

"...when you hear The Couch, you hear raw, rich, rock n' roll-- rock as solid as stone, in its sound and in its frequency." - Bleach Online

"Their sound is akin to The Bright Light Social Hour but with a more mature tone. There are shades of Wilco, My Morning Jacket and The Black Keys in their music." - Examiner

show preview - Austinist

Interview with Taylor regarding Old and Touchin Blue and adding a new member. - UWeekly Austin

Interview with Laurie Gallardo of KUT

"The Couch just released their new full-length, the outstanding Old and Touchin’ Blue, the perfect riff-laden melodic hybrid of rock, pop and a touch of blues." - KUT

Acoustic videos recorded for Austin360. - Austin American-Statesman

Posted on December 15, 2008 at 3:25 pm • Print • Share

San Marcos band The Couch had their first official EP release show at Triple Crown this last week. Members include Matt Adams on bass, Jud Johnson on drums, and Taylor Wilkins on vocals and guitar. Formed in 2007, The Couch has been an active part of the scene here in San Marcos.

"Judd and I knew each other, we met each other in the first grade. We lived across the street from each other. Judd went to Texas State, I went to UTSA. At UTSA I met Taylor, and we started playing music together," said Evans.

Listing such influences as The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles, The Couch's music is a contemporary blend of classic rock and funk, pulsing drums and bass line, and a deliberate groove reminiscent of The White Stripes. Their sets feature original works in which each member of the band influences their own particular piece. The result is a style of music that has quite a large following locally.

As with any band, there are some songs that the band or fans connect with more than others. "I'm a big fan of 'Small Faces' because it's a throwback to the whole '70s super-groove thing. It's a big funky bass groove, and there's a universal constant of meter and groove. That song really brings that out," said Johnson. "There was this couple just bumping and grinding on each other, that's all I want to see. I want to see people moving and dancing, that's what I'm going for; the dance and the backbeat."

Playing host to their release party, The Triple Crown was packed with friends, fans, and the usual musically inclined crowd. "This is our favorite place to play. The Triple Crown has got a very good, all-encompassing acceptance in terms of who they allow to play, it's really inspirational. They have really good sound guys and they really take care of the bands," said Johnson.

Their self-titled EP cover features a picture of what appears to be Arsenio Hall, drawn by Doug Pollard. All seven tracks were engineered and mixed by the band and Jarett Bostick of Grey Skull Productions, and many fans at the show were taking advantage of the opportunity to buy one.

"This is our first really legitimate recording. We did a kind of a home recording thing that we disregarded about a year ago," said Johnson. "We recorded four or five songs but it wasn't very well put together. This one was our first actual studio recording. It turned out pretty well, it had a few kinks here and there but we got it done and that was the point."

This album was a true labor of love. "We had a two-day stint at Top Hat in Ausin. We showed up there July 12 at 10 AM, recorded all day until 2 AM, went to bed and woke up at 8 AM, and then did it all again. We did 10 songs in two days. On Christmas break we're trying to look toward doing our next batch of EPs, I'm not really adamant about doing the whole album concept in terms of 10 plus songs. We're going to try to do them four at a time and release them," said Johnson.

There are no final dates yet for upcoming concerts, but they will be playing again soon. For more information on The Couch or to hear their music, visit www.myspace.com/thecouchmusic or e-mail thecouchmusic@gmail.com.

by Sarah Stevens
Correspondent

- Newstreamz.com

CD release party, unfortunately i was unable to get around the hordes of people there to see them to grab one of these bad boys, but i'm hoping to get my hands on one and review it soon. anyways like i said there were a fuckload of people at this show, and this band is a local favorite for good reason. This band brings the "Rock n roll" back to rock n roll. Too much power for such a small venue (thought the walls were gonna fall down) What is there to say about this band other than they are kind of like a classic rock revival, but that wouldn't be fair to them, since they do have plenty of modern rock influence buried within their heavy bluesy riffs. Vocalist Taylor Wilkins is the standout musician for two reasons: He's the vocalist and guitarist (band's a 3 piece) and his voice is fucking incredible. I thought for a while of how to describe his voice, thats all i could come up with, maybe edit later, maybe not. i dont give a fuck. i just want one of those new albums so i can "review" it. so if any of you guys in the couch are reading this, esp you taylor, bring me a cd.
All in all the band attracted enough people to make an anthill jealous and any fan of classic psychidelic blues would feel right at home. Impressive guitar, impressive rhythm section provided by bassist Matt Adams and drummer Jud Johnson, heavenly vocals (as well as harmonies from the rhythm section.) Although nothing completely original, the familiarity is what i feel this band works off of, and it obviously works for them. If you live in central Texas, esp. San Marcos, and you haven't seen this band yet, go to their myspace and make your way to their mecca.....

4/5

www.magnoliatreezy.blogspot.com - Magnolia Tree