Andrew Lynn first garnered attention and acclaim as a guitarist and vocalist for Atlanta pop punk outfit Survival Kit. Although the group only released a single EP (2016’s Hard Work & Dedication) and a handful of singles in their roughly three-year tenure, the foursome managed to build a sizable following and earn a spot on last summer’s Vans Warped Tour. Despite the band’s modest success, however, Lynn thought their output and overall progress was too sluggish. Worse still, he felt the new music they were creating lacked any semblance of continuity.
“It had been a year and a half since we dropped new music and I was dying to put out something new,” Lynn explains. “The songs we had written together had no cohesive sound and I felt we all had different ideas of what we wanted out of our music careers… When I realized that it may take significant time for Survival Kit to get anything out to the public after promising our fans new music… I had to make the hard call.”
That hard call in this case was Lynn’s decision to dissolve Survival Kit in order to pursue his own solo project. Writing and performing under the moniker couchsurf, Lynn finally felt free to work at his own pace and leave behind the sometimes constricting boundaries of being in a band. As a result of this newfound freedom, his music turned brighter and more dance oriented as he crafted an aesthetic that would better suit his own tastes and appeal to a wider group of listeners.
“I think I’ve finally nailed a cohesive sound that can appeal to a diverse audience,” Lynn says. “Survival Kit was very punk influenced from the beginning and as much as I love that type of music it has never been my biggest passion. I’ve always been a fan of soul-filled vocals and groovy bass lines that make people want to dance. That’s what I’ve tried to embody in couchsurf.”
And to be sure, Lynn’s debut single as couchsurf “Shook” offers a punchy mix of earnest pop hooks and rollicking rock and roll energy. There’s a kind of bluesy swagger here that’s playful and effusive with the final product coming across as a boisterous marriage of Panic at the Disco! and the Black Keys. For Lynn, the track is perhaps most notable as the embodiment of the exuberant music he wants to create. But it’s also a reminder of the opportunities life throws at us when we’re not always looking for them.
“In January 2018, I made the decision to avoid dating at all costs,” Lynn reveals. “It had only distracted me from my goals in the past and so I did everything in my power to avoid feelings. We were on the road with Vans Warped Tour last summer and I ended up falling in love with the girl at the rock show. I had found the girl of my dreams, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her because I was afraid of another distraction from my music career. Eventually, she ended up making the first move and over time I realized she wanted to push me to pursue my goals harder than ever before. People have always told me to stop looking for love and it would find me. Well, that’s exactly what happened. I’m still shook.”
Check out the lyric video below.
More Info
Web: iamcouchsurf.com
Bandcamp: couchsurf.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @iamcouchsurf
Instagram: @iamcouchsurf