"The Casting Couch is what happens when a couple of Athens, GA indie-rockers who love alt-country move to Austin and meet three alt-country Texans who love indie-rock." - first sentence of press bio for The Casting CouchI offer the above PR quote not out of laziness, not to parrot what"s already been said and just call it a day, but because it serves as a good starting point for outlining what makes The Casting Couch"s debut album Row Your Boat so special. For there is an equation at work here (and on their debut EP, reviewed here), some sort of balance between genres. Terms like "alt-country" and "indie-rock" won"t take you the whole way to understanding, but they"re a good place to begin. You need a reader"s guide, though:When you read "alt-country" think not of the hyper-traditionalists who mimic the past, nor of an Uncle Tupelo-like country-rock fusion. Think about a laidback Texas sort of country band, with accordion and pedal steel and an appreciation for an open landscape, a sunset, an old country song on the radio, and a beer. Think about the highway poets and troubadours, about the storytelling legacy of Texas songwriters.When you read the words "indie-rock", don"t think about loud, feedback-soaked rock, don"t think about the O.C. soundtrack, and don"t think about whatever flavor-of-the-month band you were just reading about. Think about smart, skilled, knowledgeable pop-rock musicians who know their music history, who"ve heard their fair share of records, who appreciate a great melody, who like to play around with arrangements and instrumentation, and for whom independence is valued for the sake of creativity, for having the freedom to make the music you want. -Dave Heaton, Erasing Clouds (Jan. 2006)