Profane April 10, 2001

“... the lone funsters in the Kitty-Yo stable of brooding instrumentalists, easily besting the Chicago school of post-rock mathletes.” — Jason Gross, Spin

“somewhere between functional energy and expressive groove... similar to Tortoise but with the important distinction of not being dull.” — Mike Wolf, Time Out New York

‘Profane’ is Couch’s 4th album, and their first release that’s simultaneously coming out in the US and overseas. Couch’s last record ‘Fantasy’ was their first in the US, reissued on Matador a year after its considerable impact in the UK and Germany.

With ‘Profane,’ Couch continue to expand their vision as a purely instrumental band. For the first time they add double bass, horns, strings and sometimes - no guitar. Still, they donıt say bye-bye to rock, and make no attempts toward orchestral bombast or pop ‘sophistication.’ Itıs minimal music but it rocks and swings. Almost no other band adds raw rock sounds — without irony — to calmer jazzy tracks in such a way and still keeps it distinctly unified.

Couch’s untitled 1995 vinyl-only debut and its successor ‘Etwas Benutzen’ (1997) threw Couch straight into the center of a musical awakening happening between Weilheim, Munich and Berlin. With 1999ıs ‘Fantasy,’ they added keyboards and left behind the more traditional guitar/bass/drum sound.

Structurally and contentwise, ‘Fantasy’ was a liquid pop sketch, on which Couch still had to address certain issues surrounding instrumental music. ‘Profane,’ by contrast, is rather unsocial but completely grounded and visceral. With unhip production, authentic percussion, and rough edges, this record is the right sound for the right moment (or they just don’t give a...). Car music for the new 20 year-olds.

Couch is not about replaying electronic music or replacing the song. Instead, they find an unusual peace agreement between abstraction and melody and manage the stunt with both feet on the floor.

Fantasy August 15, 2000

“‘Fantasy’ is Couch’s third album of elegant, electronically-enhanced analogue instrumentals, taking us on a journey of warmth and depth without the utterance of a word.” — Darren Johns, NME

The first domestic release of this remarkable album, released last year on the German label Kitty-Yo (Tarwater, To Rococo Rot). Couch will have a new record out on Matador in early 2001.

translated from the German:

‘Fantasy’ is the 3rd album by the Munich band Couch. Before taking a breath, this band has been around for almost half a decade. Their untitled 95er Vinyl-only Debut and its successor ‘Etwas Benutzen’ (1997) threw Couch straight into the center of a musical awakening, happening between Weilheim, Munich and Berlin.

Although the Post-Rock-Hype has not affected their doings up to this day, the band has played over 100 concerts at home and abroad and thus left the quite pragmatic guitar/ bass/ drums-sound — which they had defined for them on ‘Etwas benutzen’ — a great piece behind them. With the keyboards now grown to be a foursome, the new Couch-songs leave startingly great space to breathe, happen to be astoundingly friendly and courteous (“Heimweg 78”, “Übrig”) and nevertheless again and again produce energy that rocks, occasionally comes even way too close (as in “Gegen den”).

This is not about replaying electronic music or replacing the song (by a track) as, in the meanwhile, half of the Pop-Empire claims to be its duty. Instead, Couch find an unusual peace-agreement between abstraction and melody and manage the stunt to put ‘Fantasy’ with both feet on the floor. If previously, Couch would crash your door and take up your household within seconds, at least they knock the door these days before getting in.

other projects:
* Michael Heilrath’s solo electronic project Blond just released its debut on Payola, and he’s working with Alles Wie Gross on an album for Kollaps/ Hausmusik.
* Stefanie Böhm released a 4-track-single for Hausmusik under the name of Ms. John Soda, and is bassist and singer for Subatomic.
* Jürgen Söder is also the guitarist for the other Munich Kollaps/Kitty-Yo band Schwermut Forest.

Stefanie Böhm (keyboards)
Thomas Geltinger (drums)
Michael Heilrath (bass)
Jürgen Söder (guitar)