Your AMM host was fortunate enough witness the start of something awesome. Turn back the clock a bit and picture early days with The Couch, when Sara Houser was performing alongside Taylor Wilkins (Otis Wilkins, Otis the Destroyer). It was clear Houser was no mere side player. The vocalist and multi-instrumentalist had ideas percolating in exploration of her solo endeavors, though the journey would be drawn out, perhaps a bit longer than Houser was initially hoping. In addition to being a much sought-after artist for contributions to albums by Spoon, Walker Lukens, A Giant Dog and Golden Dawn Arkestra among others, Houser’s talents were also in the books for touring artists like Matthew Logan Vasquez and, most recently, an incredible run with Zella Day. Things had to either be put on the back burner or wait in the wings for a time before launching. All that, in addition to being a music teacher, makes for intriguing career maneuvers – and more than a bit of frustration. Don’t get it twisted; all of this work is wonderful, each fulfilling in its own way, but Houser has been on the verge of a creative reckoning even before releasing music as Löwin. That was one of the first connections to the rumbling roar beneath the surface.
This is the time. S.L. Houser emerges with the new EP Hibiscus, marking a new chapter in the Spaceflight Records‘ artist’s wide-spanning self-discovery. “The songs on this EP are all centered in growth – ego death in order to give life to new parts of myself,” Houser explains. “…I found myself writing from a much freer place. I wanted the music to reflect that newly found liberty, drawing from both the full spectrum of my life experience and wide range of musical influences. I think for a long time I struggled with what “my sound” is.”
S.L. Houser’s EP release show is tonight, Friday Nov. 10, at Mohawk on the indoor stage, cozy and warm, with doors at 7 p.m. It’s a spectacular line-up featuring a few of Houser’s friends – James Bookert‘s project San Gabriel, and Geoff Earle joining forces with Scott Martin and Aaron Perez to unleash CLUB COMA. Family night. Don’t miss out.
-Special thanks to Richard Whymark for early footage of The Couch via The Good Music Club.
