Couch

BIOGRAPHY

When members of the retro-pop septet Couch first began writing together, one of its kin was recovering from a concussion, confined to dark but tranquil days on his living room couch. The rest of the soon-to-be band would come over, and spend hours quietly writing the songs that would become its first releases. The name “Couch” is a tribute to that formative place and time.

Since then, the Boston-based band has sold out shows across the U.S. and Europe, toured with Lake Street Dive, Cory Wong (Vulfpeck), St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Sammy Rae, and Ripe, and played major festivals, including Boston Calling and Levitate. Couch has also amassed over 60 million streams, and nearly half a million monthly listeners on Spotify. The group has been featured by The Boston Globe, NPR, CBS Boston, and NBC Boston. Most recently, it has earned the Salt Lick Incubator award, whose artist advisory board includes Charlie Puth, Jon Batiste, Julia Michaels, and Susan Tedeschi.

Now, Couch is releasing its highly-anticipated debut album, Big Talk, a meditation on multidimensional love. The record, out October 24th, expands the band’s creative canvas, blending analog warmth with contemporary production. It’s a swirl of modern pop boldness grounded in vintage instrumentation, interlocking and carefully arranged grooves, live horns, and layered harmonies. 

“Big talk is the opposite of small talk. It’s about digging deep, making intimate connections, and being bolder, more confident versions of ourselves,” explains lead singer Tema Siegel. “Big Talk is the fullest expression of who we are right now,” guitarist Zach Blankstein adds. “It’s the most collaborative we’ve ever been, with every member’s voice and sensibilities woven into the music. Mixing genres has always been part of what we do, but this record takes that even further—and with more intention—than ever before.”

Couch began as a tangle of childhood and high school friendships around the Boston area. Over time, those threads pulled tighter, solidifying into the lineup that includes Tema Siegel (lead vocals), Zach Blankstein (guitar), Jared Gozinsky (drums), Will Griffin (bass), Danny Silverston (keys), Jeffrey Pinsker-Smith (trumpet), and Eric Tarlin (saxophone).

Self-produced, self-managed, and deeply collaborative, Couch’s sound is shaped by years of arranging, playing, and building together. Its sensibility sits in the junction between the pop hooks of Bruno Mars, Remi Wolf, Dua Lipa, Sammy Rae, and Charlie Puth, and the chops and groove of Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, and Motown. 

Couch formally began as long-distance band when its members scattered across the country for college. The pandemic hit shortly after, reinforcing the band’s post-high school separation. For years, the group wrote and recorded remotely over FaceTime and Zoom, cultivating its identity before ever sharing a stage. When Couch finally convened onstage, the bond forged in those years of long-distant collaboration fueled an instant chemistry.

Its first show in New York City sold out in four hours, and the second night sold out within a day. “Early on, we texted every person we knew. It was individual outreach,” Silverston says.  Siegel adds: “When we would contact clubs, we would say,  ‘Here’s how we think we’ll sell out this show, and here’s what we’ll do to make it happen.’ We’ve always been undaunted by things that might seem out of reach.”

In the band’s early touring years, some members were still living in different cities and juggling college schedules, flying out for weekend shows and returning to campus for Monday classes. “It felt like I was living a double life, like Hannah Montana,” Tarlin says. “The day after I graduated, we went to Illinois to play a festival headlined by the Smashing Pumpkins.”

It’s been nonstop since those days with the band building its profile through touring and short-form music releases. It’s finally time for Big Talk which is Couch’s most adventurous and diverse statement.

The album’s lead single, “What Were You Thinking,” is a bright, hook-filled track with ‘70s-inspired groove and dense modern production. Written from Tema’s perspective after a formative breakup, it reflects the album’s wider theme of embracing love in all its forms—romantic, platonic, and self-love alike. The album’s empowering lead single, “What Were You Thinking,” speaks to a love interest from back when Siegel was 19. It was a heady romance that left her feeling taken for granted. “With the title I am challenging him and his choices. I was younger than him, and I looked up to him,” she says. 

In support of Big Talk, Couch is embarking on a 40-city international headline tour, including marquee stops at Roadrunner (Boston), The Fonda (Los Angeles), Brooklyn Steel (New York), and KOKO (London)—the next chapter for a band that started on a couch and now brings that spirit of connection to stages around the world.