Couch Slut : You Could Do It Tonight
At its core, Couch Slut’s You Could Do It Tonight is about storytelling, with music that’s just as dark and ugly as its subject matter. These are the kinds of stories that would have made Charles Bukowski feel at home, glimpses into maladjusted outsiders growing up in the New York suburbs. The most compelling part of what they do as a band is the cathartic honesty driving how they are told. Musically, they are the sonic equivalent to drinking booze out of an ashtray. Like early Sonic Youth, at heart they’re a punk band. Just one that play their instruments with a more calculated recklessness.
There is a rock ‘n’ roll swagger to “CENSORED” is a song that reflects themes of sexual assault and the toxic perspectives such trauma gives root to. Unhealthy coping mechanisms such as self-harming are confessed with a surly sneer, with vocalist Meg Osztrosits singing about miniature scalpels she used to cut herself in church. Drummer Theo Nobel has pummeling metal chops and is not afraid to put his boots on the double bass pedal. Black metal is also an influence in the tremolo-picked guitar that haunts the background of these songs.
Sometimes the songs come at full force in an effort to make you feel them, but the message comes across with the most clarity when they play with a deliberate stomp for the lyrics to be transmitted over the din. An example of this can be heard in “The Donkey” where Osztrosits’ lyrics are exclaimed in a more spoken narrative fashion. When the song builds the guitars sound as if they might fall apart from the pounding.
After the odd interlude of “Presidential Welcome,” “Energy Crystals for Healing” is more explosive in its intentions. The blackened punk vibes continue as the undercurrent of “Downhill Racer” exudes even more angst with a fuzzed-out bass, almost burying the song’s nuances in its wake. Growled vocals even gurgle up from the chaos unfolding. The production quality of this album keeps all the moving parts in the mix while retaining the raw edges that stay true to the punk rock of the band’s DNA. “The Weaversville Home For Boys” dives even deeper into the storytelling, this time with a brooding tension. The song touches on the heavier side of the grunge, within a neighborhood bordering metal and closer to the zip code of the Melvins.
At times the anger of reliving some of these scenes causes things to accelerate into a rowdy punk rock temper tantrum. But regardless, Couch Slut put care into the songs and are effective at painting you a picture with their instruments to provide a uniquely tense backdrop to the stories. Even with punk roots, these songs feel more personal than anything, delivering the message that everyone gets fucked up by life, and while it’s natural to feel the anger, at times, you might as well laugh at the absurdity of it all. A noise rock album that wears a heavy coat of grunge-inflected punk, Couch Slut’s You Could Do It Tonight spins blood-curdling yarns of real-life horrors.
Label: Brutal Panda
Year: 2024
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