New York noise punk maximalists Couch Slut don't do anything by half measures. Officially invited to Roadburn Festival to make their European live debut playing their freshly released fourth album You Could Do It Tonight in its entirety on Saturday April 20, the band also end up playing a surprise pop-up set in a skate park the night before. Within a few songs, vocalist Megan Osztrosits is bleeding profusely.
But then, anybody familiar with the Brooklyn band will hardly be surprised. Since their 2014 debut My Life As A Woman the band have existed in the liminal space between noise punk, hardcore and stomach-turning sludge metal. So naturally, the band's live shows are a thrilling, triumphant and terrifying experience all at once.
Megan Osztrosits is a force of nature to behold, blood pouring from a wound on her head as she caterwauls against a raging maelstrom of bass, drums and guitars, jumping amidst the crowd for several songs during their first set of the weekend, taking advantage of the lack of barriers to get up close and personal. As opposed to the theatrical menace of a Cannibal Corpse gig or the controlled violence of Slayer, Couch Slut's set genuinely feels like it may devolve into anarchy at any moment, crowdsurfers putting paid to Roadburn's generally more thoughtful and observant ambiance.
It makes for a killer experience though, capturing both the anarchic energy and communal spirit of a great hardcore gig as the band burn through some of their older tracks like Company Picnic With Dust Off and I Was 14. Their second set of the weekend shows just how much they have evolved over the past decade, however. Although still drenched in feedback, new album You Could Do It Tonight offers a lurking menace that is fleshed out through queasy, meandering basslines and tooth-gnashing intensity, the band feeling altogether more dangerous for their more measured approach to aural violence.
The likes of Ode To Jimbo and The Donkey feel tighter and more claustrophobic, while a combination of graphic imagery - mutilation, grotesque sexual acts, all depicted in the band's now characteristic black and white cartoon style - displayed on large screens behind the band adds an extra layer of distress to the experience.
But for all the nauseating narratives ("this one is about when I used to suck dick for drugs as a child," Megan announces to introduce I Was 14) and utter bedlam of their sound, Couch Slut remind us that this music is supposed to be distressing, overloading the listener to the point where the overall experience seems to come around to some form of catharsis, a Shawshank Redemptionistyle cleansing that can only come after being drenched in 50 minutes of aural filth. Extreme music has seldom felt more dangerous or thrilling.
You Could Do It Tonight is out now via Brutal Panda
