Photo Credit: Joseph Bone + Tahir Carl Karmali / Words by Willa Rudolph
Renowned NYC noise rockers Couch Slut recently put out an explosive lyric video for their latest single “The Donkey (Abridged),” released by Brutal Panda Records on March 19th. Alongside “Ode to Jimbo” which saw release on February 20th, the new track only adds to the mounting anticipation for the band’s upcoming LP You Could Do It Tonight which itself comes out April 19th– just in time for my fave holiday 😉 🍁
The official lyric video for the shocking “The Donkey (Abridged)” was created by Frank Huang (aka Maximum Volume Silence) and shows footage shot in a haunted house in Thailand by occasional Couch Slut collaborator Davindar Singh and shots of guitarist Amy Mills’ personal doll collection. Interspersed between these images are noir comic-book-esque style drawings, which act out the lyrics.
Bassist Kevin Hall explains, “‘The Donkey’ is simultaneously simple and complex, like a bucket of sewage which at first appears homogeneous, but upon close inspection dazzles the mind and the senses with the diversity and pungency of its constituent detritus.” I mean… Wild description, but the song is certainly outrageous and attempts to repulse and shock the listener.
Sounds of mic and amp feedback usher you into the underworld of “The Donkey (Abridged)” before vocalist Megan Osztrosits tauntingly says, “HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY FRIENDS AND I GOT FIRED FROM THE HAUNTED WATERPARK – JOE AND LINDSAY DRESSED UP LIKE ZOMBIES…” Her voice pauses before gutturally screaming, “‘GET… THE… FUCK… OUTTTTTTTT!!!!!’”
Squeaky guitar noodling, scratching and sliding on the strings, is followed by a fuzzy and noisy cacophony of a heavy metal guitar riff and backed by a steady and crashing drum beat. The lyric video shows the caustic and acrimonious lyrics in karaoke style, with the words lighting up as Megan says them. A little cartoon razor blade marks what word they’re on so you can follow along.
Depraved and perverted, the nine tracks on You Could Do It Tonight offer up a sobering yet trance-inducing point of view in the lyrics, while the band creates a sticky web of noise layered underneath, a sludgy quick sand of frightening and inflammatory noise rock. The album was recorded in the noise capital, NYC, with Uniform’s Ben Greenberg (Drab Majesty, Portrayal of Guilt, Metz) and was mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios in London (Blur, Nick Cave, Thom Yorke). Guest appearances from members of fellow NYC bands Imperial Triumphant & Pyrrhon are littered throughout the album, adding their own little sprinkles of grime, dirt, and flame.
Widely regarded by those in the know as NYC’s resident misfits, Couch Slut’s provocative fourth full-length album You Could Do It Tonight is out April 19, 2024 via Brutal Panda Records, the band being comprised of Dylan DiLella (guitar), Kevin Hall (bass, shehnai, granular synthesizer), Amy Mills (guitar, flute, trumpet), Theo Nobel (drums and percussion, synthesizer, bells), and Megan Osztrosits (vocals).
Couch Slut will make their European debut at Roadburn Fest on April 20th–alongside the likes of Chelsea Wolfe, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Angry Blackmen–performing You Could Do It Tonight in full. Additionally, the band has announced a special headlining set at Caterwaul Fest’s Afterparty in Minneapolis on May 26th. Stay tuned for more 2024 live shows to be announced soon. Pre-Order You Could Do It Tonight on LP/CD/CS/Digital via Brutal Panda Records or Bandcamp.
Couch Slut, live:
April 20 Tilburg, NL @ Roadburn Fest (Performing You Could Do It Tonight)
May 26 Minneapolis, MN @ Caterwaul Fest