Koch is a four-piece NYC rock band (for lack of a better descriptor) that plays spacey, lilting, moving, and pleasant tones. Their two-track “Spritz EP” (named after constituent tracks “Fritz” and “Sports”) is a concise exploration of two distinct but related feels.
“Fritz” is full of washed-out tones (no, that isn’t a reference), starting with a tom-roll that leads into epic reverb chords reminiscent of shoegaze classics I don’t even need to name. The lyrics are decently difficult to make out, but on this track they seem to be sung more for resonant effect than poetic brilliance. Ethereal verses are broken up by chunky guitar riffing, providing a welcome grit to contrast against the polished smoothness so characteristic of Koch’s music. Delay and reverb get even heavier towards the middle of the track, and these are the moments where I like Koch best – slight wordless vocals, pretty interlocking guitar parts, and present drumming.
“Sports” is a slightly more controversial track in terms of lyrics, clocking in at a little over six minutes long. It opens with a healthy mix of heavily distorted dissonant and harmonious guitar licks, but quickly fades into the sort of empty and lazy verse that lets the delivery really shine through (“but hey, fuck sports”).
I just believe
in popular literature
which says
implicitly
sometimes explicitly
fuck sports, fuck ’em
Audible lyrics really help Koch do justice to the crazy jams they eke out of their instruments, and by the time I’d gotten halfway through my first listen of “Sports” I was hooked. I’m probably biased, though… sports, man. Not my thing. In any case, I don’t need to spend more time convincing you that Koch are a groovy band with just the right mix of sleaze and sincerity to warm your insides on this bitterly cold January day.
Watch the video for “American Singles” (not on the EP) below:
Really liked your article. Thanks for posting the video as well. Was nice to hear how well you described the sound. Great new band.