Who are Parquet Courts and why haven’t you heard of them? In the years following their initial release, the 2011 limited edition American Specialties cassette, subsequent albums by Parquet Courts have had the enviable distinction of not only charting successfully in both the Top 30 (UK) and Top 20 (Scotland) but also cracking the Top 10 too (New Zealand). Earlier this year NME music journalist Ben Homewood called them “one of the most important bands in the world right now.” So why is it that North America is lagging so far behind in awareness and appreciation of this wonderfully fresh and fully energized back-to-basics no frills bass/guitar/drums Brooklyn based New York City quartet?
For anyone just hearing about Parquet Courts you are not too late to the party, their 6th and most recent album Wide Awake! may be their finest moment yet. Recorded at Electric Lady in hometown NYC as well as Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, the boys of Parquet Courts (brothers Andrew & Max Savage, Austin Brown and Sean Yeaton) enlisted 19 time Grammy nominated record producer Danger Mouse (Gorillaz, Sparklehorse, The Black Keys, Norah Jones, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck) as the definitive knock down one-two punch for this 38 minute 13 track collection of classic kick. Often regarded as punk (or rather punk revival in the original mid 70’s sense of the genre) Parquet Courts may very well have procured the talents of Mr. Mouse (Brian Burton) in order to push themselves just far enough outside the narrow confines of their punk rock comfort zone into a cloudless environment of endless sonic possibilities.
The resulting Wide Awake! album is a vast expanse of high powered late 70’s UK New Wave grooves (“NYC Observation”), sweet 60’s pop (“Death Will Bring Change”), Gil Scott-Heron inspired spoken (or in this case shouted) word soul/funk social consciousness (“Violence”), swirling melodic 60’s psychedelia (“Mardi Gras Beads”), gritty Television influenced mid 70’s angular underground pre-punk art rock (“Normalization”) Specials era Brit Ska (“Back To Earth”) and the climactic George Clintonesque funk anthem (“Wide Awake!”) this little gem of an album was named after. Thankfully, Burton spent as much if not more time on Wide Awake! staying out of the way of the raw energy and musical integrity in the room as he did focusing this eclectic mix into the cohesive and shining triumph it is.
Wide Awake! is knee deep in Punk Rock’s slightly younger sibling, owing much of its energy and feel to the late 70’s New Wave musings of such notable acts as The Jam, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Joe Jackson, XTC, The Jim Carroll Band, Patti Smith, Blondie, The B-52s, Devo and the Talking Heads to name a few. For anyone set on buying one and only one single 2018 album by a new and previously-unknown-to-them artist, make it Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts, in all likelihood you will be purchasing the finest album of the year. For reals.
Rating: 9.5/10
Star Rating: 4.5/5
2018 Song Of The Day Club Album Review 28/52