Couch is ready for a ‘Big Talk’ on his debut album
Only a handful of local bands can fill up a venue as large as Boston’s 3,500-capacity Roadrunner. Couch is one of them. The group has brought its fusion of pop, soul and funk across the country and overseas. After years of touring success, the band released its debut album “Big Talk” on Friday, Oct. 24, ahead of a 36-city headlining tour.
In many ways, “Big Talk” is a reflection of the seven musicians’ experiences as a band since putting out their first single in 2019.
The opening track “On The Wire” tells the story of a young band on tour and in need of a big talk.
“What a terrible day/ I want a quick fix. I’m coming around for sympathy./ Can you show it?” lead vocalist Tema Siegel sings. “Decision time, big talk brews/ And we know it.”
“This is the first song that we’ve put out that actually talks about our relationship to each other,” she said. “It’s a very unique kind of relationship that you have with your bandmates. I don’t just consider them my friends. I don’t just consider them my colleagues. If anything, I think they’re a bit more like what brothers would feel like.”
The Boston-based band’s time on the road also inspired the sonic makeup of the album, in some ways more literally than others. Bassist Will Griffin shared how he subtly incorporated Couch’s touring van, lovingly dubbed “Lori,” into a couple of songs, including “On The Wire.”
“I took a mic when we were at the studio and just went outside and started banging and smacking the different parts of it, and then made a percussion loop that you can hear in the chorus,” Griffin said.
The self-produced “Big Talk” features big, energetic sounds and music-theory intricacies that propelled the band into success.
“We can appeal to mainstream pop consumers, but also to very technically advanced musicians and hopefully bring both of those parties a lot of joy and a desire to dance and maybe some inspiration to go and make their own music,” Siegel said.
Couch has headlined festivals and opened for established acts such as Cory Wong and Lake Street Dive. The band has nearly 700,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and built this international audience all before releasing an album.
“This feels like a moment of maturing, and also declaring a little more confidently who we are as a band and who we’ve become through these years of touring.”
Tema Siegel, lead vocalist
Drummer Jared Gozinsky said touring and shorter projects like singles and EPs took priority in those early years.
“I think in the beginning, it just logistically made sense for us,” said Gozinsky. “Because an album is, as we have learned, it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of time and it’s a lot of effort.”
The band considered continuing on its path of smaller releases, but felt ready for more.
“Now to make an album almost feels more like a statement or more like a changing of eras, especially since we haven’t done it before,” Siegel said.
“Big Talk” has all the recognizable elements of previous Couch releases: danceable music that blends pop, soul and funk. The album also shows the band exploring new sounds like in the song “Middleman,” which Gozinsky referred to as “our take on a pop EDM vibe.” Siegel noted an Easter egg for local listeners: a subtle shout-out to the Glitter Boys at the Sinclair on Church Street.
On the album’s closing song “So Myself,” Siegel sings of chasing the feeling of finding beauty in herself. She expresses concerns about big changes on the horizon and the possibility of being “washed up like a child star in Hollywood” before settling into a newfound confidence. “If I felt it once, I can feel it again/ It’s somewhere in my chest, yeah, it’s beating inside/ When I’m not at my best, I can find it again, again, again, again, again.”
“Big Talk” serves as a reflection of who Couch is as a band, where it’s headed and the conversations needed to get there.
“We’ve learned that we kind of have a lot to say — harmonically, rhythmically, lyrically,” Gozinsky said.
Siegel added, “This feels like a moment of maturing, and also declaring a little more confidently who we are as a band and who we’ve become through these years of touring.”
Couch performs at Roadrunner in Boston on Nov. 22 as part of his “Big Talk” tour.