Parquet Courts- Human Performance
Parquet Courts are a pleasantly surprising original, highly intelligent post punk, art-rock quartet from New York City’s Brooklyn burrow. The band’s front man, main songwriter and lyricist extraordinaire, Andrew Savage, has created a 14 song personal vision of New York City, that shines an optimistic, yet simultaneously a pessimistic view of the big apple.
The sound of the band is complex, consisting mainly of a surf style guitar twanging out smooth vibes, along side complimenting brainy lyrics full of dream -like imagery. I consider the band to be a “Thinking Man’s” Velvet Underground, that said, nowhere to be found is the perception of pretentiousness.
Throughout the disc, in songs like “Outside”, the attention to the lyric quality is obvious. “I saw a name in the graveyard that I knew, glowing like a neon in a lounge light, “Spelled just the same as the twinge that crawls through you.”
On “Pathos Prairie”, a Velvet Underground influenced song, the band most humbly takes pride in not concealing the Lou Reed clone delivered lyrical style and brings to distinct visionary light the grittiness of the New York streets. Savage brilliantly spews the words “People flow like streams where I bathe, then drift along to a foreign place”.
“Captive Of The Sun”, a blunt narrative critically exposes the mundane life in the bleak city. “Halftone harmony from the sewer, rebel youth choir belt phrases even newer …I don’t get out, I don’t have fun, living like a captive of the sun. Also, the vibraphone is a nice musical touch.
Savage has a vocal style that grows on you after repeated listens and eventually you begin to understand what he is trying to say. Although at times a difficult and frustrating listen, this album will hopefully succeed to entertain and enlighten the listener while exposing you to some very well written lyrics.
Among the albums I’ve heard this year, this one stands out like a seven-foot tall kid in a kindergarten class.
Parquet Courts most brilliantly consists of Andrew Savage -vocals and guitar, Austin Brown-vocals and guitar, Sean Yeaton -Bass, and Max Savage- drums.
