Couch

Profane (Matador)
by Lex Marburger

Ah… instrumental German alt-rock. More indie than Can or Faust, and certainly they have no sonic connections to Kraftwerk. But all the same, there’s a similar feeling to form, to looping melodies and rhythms and minimalism. Could it be there’s more… rock? Why, yes! Couch is a fluid and graceful band, and with Profane being their fourth album (OK, I’ll admit, I haven’t heard the first three), they seem to have had time to settle into a style. And, yes, you can make the argument that the music is geared at a higher intellectual level than most rock music, but they took pains to mask that with a crafty production that makes the music rough. The drums distort a little, the guitars sound natural, and overall, there’s a sense of group participation, not isolation. Perhaps that’s what puts Couch apart from those other German bands: They have a need to be human, not machines. Even though they repeat things endlessly, do not sing, and drift towards odd time signatures and rhythms, they are, without question, human. I, for one, say the evolution has re-commenced. Farewell to the man-machine.
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