COUCHGRASS - King Camden Took A Brush And Drowned His Hair In Gasoline

13 songs
45:55 minutes
***** ****
(DIY)

Bandpage

Couchgrass are one of the few Luxemburgish bands which participated at the 2003 edition of the Emergenza newcomer contest and hasn't vanished yet. In 2004, they released their debut Motel Love which was a more than respectable indie rock album.

Two years later, the new album goes further in every aspect: songwriting, layout, hair cuts and album title are much more exquisite than on the debut. The first two songs I Love My Teevee and Rubber Tits (coolest song title ever) offer the typical Couchgrass sound which reflects P.J. Harvey as a major influence. But the songwriting has become much more diverse than on their debut. AA is a noisy song with weird passages and sounds like a female version of Dinosaur Jr. Happy Family is a mature song strongly influenced by the actual British indie pop movement.

Bathtub has a great groove and really rocks. Washing Machine has playful electronica and wave parts, coming across like a Blondie tribute. No Fun is not a cover version, but close to the Stooges and One To Many has the heaviness of a Monster Magnet song. The only song which didn't convince me is Me And The Kids which somehow leaves an unfinished impression.

The use of instruments is impressive, too. You have the traditional rock instruments like guitars, bass and drums, but also more unusual ones like trumpets, double bass, violins, cellos, organs and piano which you don't find on many rock albums. Eccentric singer Amandine is still Couchgrass's centre of attention due to her charismatic voice consisting of passionate outbursts, screams, shrieks and moans.

Couchgrass have again released an album they can be very proud of. Their rrriot charm is still unique in Luxemburg and I hope that there will be enough opportunities to witness them live on stage.