US sludge/doom metal trio Couch return with new three-track EP »Spiritual Advisors«; out now on cassette via Rope Or Guillotine!

Minneapolis, Minnesota based sludge/doom metal trio Couch return with their new three-track EP, »Spiritual Advisors«, which was just released on cassette tape on September 27, 2024 via Rope Or Guillotine.

Tracklist:
01. Grieving Mothers
02. Somethin’ For Nothin’
03. Grieving Fathers

Courtesy of Rope Or Guillotine:

September 27, 2024 marks the release of Couch’s »Spiritual Advisors« tape!

Weird as fuck sludge, or as they like to call it themselves, “slurry”. This release is intensely unhinged!

Music that I would never expect to work in the way they did it, but absolutely rips and utterly mental artwork, full of details to discover!

There is this underlying creepy feeling to the whole thing that makes you feel really uncomfortable in the best possible meaning of the word

Limited to 50 copies on clear purple tape with foldout inlay

There’s a limited amounts of the tape available. It comes on clear purple tape with foldout inlay

Listen and order on Rope Or Guillotine’s Webshop or Bandcamp

Couch ~ »Spiritual Advisors«

“»Spiritual Advisors« is the latest handout from this multi-state, US based “slurry”[?] band, Couch. What they have typically done is partake in a drug-induced Conan ritual. What they have been distilling since could be seen as niche in the realm of sludge/doom but nevertheless could qualify as that sufficient enough.

So, what does “slurry” sound like? Well, one could argue that it’s a little sloppy or sounds smelly. However one chooses to describe it sonically, one glimpse into the world of »Spiritual Advisors« and a strange and mutated form becomes apparent. Something of a gene splicing experiment gone horribly, horribly wrong. The release is bookended by the two woozy and sea-sick pieces »Grieving Mothers« and »Grieving Fathers«. These two songs evoke the mighty Dead C but given an ample amount of Dextromethorphan and alcohol. Droning, piercing shrieks of the guitar’s feedback horror, infused with a bass that sounds as though it’s melting the exterior structure of the building it’s housed in, like sulfuric acid stripping away everything to the bone. They have found a way to simultaneously make the recording sharp and muddy. No easy feat, if that was the intention.

The result is, however, like an auditory manifestation of neurofibrotosis or hydrocephalus. A bizarre, aimless and stomach churning set of songs that sound like they were recorded live which gives them a more fluid, bowel-movement-like feeling. Gone are the vocals in favor of a virtually endless string of samples from Marshall Applewhite and his Heavens Gate cult leads one to the feeling of having consumed dangerous levels of psychedelics. Speaking of psychedelics, if it weren’t for the occasionally humorous contrast of music and word, one could easily fall into a bad trip and need to step outside for some fresh air. The end of »Grieving Fathers« feels like you are being beamed up into the ship as Mr. Applewhite so eloquently describes “what you might call a very attractive, extra-terrestrial”. »Somethin’ For Nothin’« comes in hot and will appeal more to those interested in the Conan-era vibes of past Couch releases. Heaving punishment set against crumbling riffage á la Bongzilla. Again, vocal duties have been relegated here to some unknown preacher who is absolutely hell bent on plastering the walls with the vitriol of Christ.A rambling and hilarious assault on so many topics that it’s difficult to know where he’s headed, if anywhere, other than to bludgeon non-believers into the depths of hell. The drums here sound tectonic and the riffs chug along while the bass, a viscous and sticky substance, keeps the entire piece together.

If your interest in traditional sludge/doom has waned and faded (no shade if it hasn’t) then »Spiritual Advisors« may be a new weird drug of choice for you. Get your kicks in now, while you can, before the “planet earth: about to be recycled”.

Out now on Rope ♺ Guillotine Records”

– C. Steakhouse

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well