For this week's premiere we've got a beautifully penned heartbreaker of a song from the Milwaukee indie quartet LO/ST. Stream and read about "Couch" below, ahead of the band's single release show Friday, Jan. 24, at Cactus Club.
First impressions
LO/ST caught our ear last year with their gorgeous debut single " Anyone Who Does So," a sky-grazing slice of sadcore that left us eager for more. And sure enough, their follow-up single delivers. Like their debut, "Couch" aches in the best way possible, as singer Stephanie Glyzewski laments wounds that won't heal in part because the people around us won't let them.
"They send those probing questions," she sings. "They dig in wounds with fingers/They keep me talking about it/Make sure that break can linger." This is fantastic songwriting, pointed in its specificity -- there must be hundreds of songs that address this kind of trauma, but I've never heard one approach it quite from this angle.
I can't wait to hear more from this band.
Artists' statement
"Couch" was born out of a desire to stop dwelling on pain that is holding you back and move forward. There are so many aspects of grief that are essential to the process but this song is about reaching that diminishing return from time spent on the many forms of therapist couches in your life. Sometimes you reach a point where continuing to talk about the problem fans the flame of its perpetuation. The two distinct parts of the song are a nice showcase of some of the range of sounds we play with as a band. There's always a little bit of folk songwriting and a whole lot of indie alternative.