Couch Session: Fort Lean

 

 Couch Session #39: Fort Lean

There are times when you meet someone who just gets it,
like you're on the same page; any difference, forget it.
Say, a lady in line, just as confused with a long wait,
or a friend at a deli, who also thinks matzo balls are great.
Fort Lean are just that, a gang of new pals that are swell,
who are fun and silly and fit in perfectly well.
We feel like there's some possibility, in a Rick Moranis-led world,
we could shrink them down, make 'em tiny, give it a whirl.
They could fit on our couch as a miniature mascot clan,
like The Roots on Fallon, but our literal house band.
But, whether they're small or big, mustachioed or not,
this is one band whose tunes we have not forgot.
"Beach Holiday" is fitting for both their song and their style,
as each tune feels like tropical breeze paired with a smile.
They even made a glitter home for a funky drum pad,
like a birdhouse for their craft, only totally rad.
We could talk all day about giggling or their music or more,
or even the glitter we happily left dotted across the floor,
but we'd rather have you hear their tunes stripped down this moment,
so kick back, turn it up, and let those boys of Fort Lean show it:

MP3

Fort Lean - "Beach Holiday (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)"

Fort Lean - "Perfect (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)"

Fort Lean - "Dreams (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)" 

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bandcamp

SXSW Session: Lands & Peoples

SXSW Session: Lands & Peoples

Lands & Peoples, people and things,
we adore these four, but even more when they sing.
Stumbling across their songs mere hours before boarding,
we headed to Austin, unsure of recording.
A few parties later, we were fast friends,
A few days later, they were behind the lens.
While in the South, the band discovered a secret garden land,
that with fantastical objects was nothing short of grand.
In the Saturday sun, as our Texas time reached its close,
we gathered in the morning with videos to compose.
Gongs and enormous chimes aside, these videos are pretty neat,
and not because it's the first we've done without a couch as our seat.
We've made it outdoors, into the bright sunshine,
far from four walls and that wood floor's dusty grime.
So among Mother Nature comes our first taste of outside,
as we present you Lands & Peoples, with tons of pride:

MP3s

Lands & Peoples - "Ghosts (Big Ugly Yellow Couch live at SXSW)"

Lands & Peoples - "Awake (Big Ugly Yellow Couch live at SXSW)"

A special thanks to Fortney's Artful Home Furnishings for allowing us to shoot on location.

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bandcamp

Couch Session: High Highs

Couch Session #31: High Highs

So many carbs, piled all around,
bagels with toppings from all parts of town.
Three sessions shot in one day,
meant later that evening, we easily hit the hay.
Between all of the craziness, we found one thing to not be like the others,
namely the photo, up there, which is now quite a bother.
Every other session, we remember it all,
feed the band, shoot them, then take a photo against the wall.
But for this one, for some reason, it fell out of our brains,
we fed them and shot them, and the rest felt the same.
But here we are, no photo to be had,
An integral piece to the puzzle for the band.
It's strange, because this one wound up a bit different too —
the lighting near-absurdist, the sun setting in tune.
The boys almost look like they're black and white,
a crazy effect that makes these videos such a delight.
I could listen to their songs the whole live long day,
as this Flowers Bloom video may or may not be on constant replay.
But with this band, it's more than just three captured songs,
Or bopping around your bedroom, watching while singing along.
They're a part of our showcase, the last slice of our pie,
pumping the jams next Friday out into the Austin sky.
We couldn't be happier to bring you High Highs today and next week,
so watch and listen along, but try your best not to shriek:

 MP3

High Highs - "Flowers Bloom (Big Ugly Yellow Couch sessions)"

High Highs - "Open Season (Big Ugly Yellow Couch sessions)"

High Highs - "Horses (Big Ugly Yellow Couch sessions)"

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bandcamp

Couch Session: J. Irvin Dally

Couch Session #29: J. Irvin Dally

We laid hazy in a fog from overstretched Friday nights,
so much restless sleep, so many throbbing lights.
One of us wrecked from staying out too late dancing,
The other one ill from food poisoning advancing.
We were wowed by Jordan's voice on that Saturday afternoon,
but it wasn't until later that we'd wholeheartedly swoon.
Once our distractions had been lifted, our heads back on straight,
we fully realized how lucky we were to have a performer so great.
Plucking his guitar with fingers long and thin,
time just seemed to suspend as soon as he'd begin.
With a face that tells stories you can trust all the way down,
and a voice with a soothing-yet-still-intense sound,
his songs make you stand in silence, numbingly filled with awe,
the apartment floor creaking between choruses raw.
In the end, we really don't have much to say,
since we're still reeling from how he played that day,
so while the headaches have cleared, and light's no longer a pain,
we're still as entranced by Brown Sugar, Sleep and Cocaine.
Well, if we meant the actual things, we'd be high as a kite,
floating away in the freezing Manhattan night,
but instead, we'll stay inside, wamed by the reflection of our laptops' glow,
and let J. Irvin Dally's tunes take you just where you need to go:

MP3s

J. Irvin Dally - "Brown Sugar (Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session)"

J. Irvin Dally - "Sleep (Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session)"

J. Irvin Dally - "Cocaine (Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session)"

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bandcamp

Couch Session: Boy & Bear

Couch Session #26: Boy & Bear

We sat down with these guys
on their first day in town,
right before they trekked through Brooklyn
and were shown all around.
Our new Australian friends
on their first day in the States,
spent their time serenading us
and having lunch at our place.
We welcomed them to the US
with a feast of American food,
Macaroni and cheese! Tater tots! Apple pie!
if it was from here, we would have fed them the moon.
Between dairy and dessert,
plates upon plates of goodies to enjoy,
we were full, rested and ready
to hear the songs by the bear and the boy.
There's something about this band
that left us transfixed from the start,
we even bargained for them to move in,
debating live performances & rent to not have them depart.
The songs are just so perfect,
those melodies absorbing us in tune,
you can probably hear the floorboards creaking
since all i could do was stand and swoon.
We're going to love this band 'til the end,
we can by far already tell,
and with how unbelievable these five guys are
we think you will as well.
I don't even want to push this one live
since that means it's now the end,
we won't be able to have them serenade us,
will have to wait so long to hear them again.
But, if we're thankful for the memories,
these are a golden few,
we hope you fall for these songs like we did,
as we give Boy & Bear to you.

MP3

Boy & Bear - "Blood to Gold (Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session)"

Boy & Bear - "Rabbit Song (Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session)"

Boy & Bear - "The Storm (Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session)"

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