Parquet Courts don’t seem to care that they’re being hailed as the “Last Great New York Band,” but how New York of them is that? At this point anyway, the tag seems unavoidable and a fight against it meaningless — I remember that the first time I heard their debut, Light Up Gold, I thought it sounded like a ramshackle, booze-induced Strokes practice session from 2001. And I imagine many listeners connected with it in the same way.
Much like its title implies, Sunbathing Animal shows that the Courts have toned down quite a bit from where they left off, even though it’s only been two years since Light Up Gold was first released. Whereas that record presented 15 tracks over a lean, 33-minute frame, Sunbathing Animal contains two fewer songs yet boasts 11 more minutes of music. Andrew Savage now sings more than he speaks or shouts. And only the title track will put blisters on your fingers.
Yet Parquet Courts haven’t lost a step settling into a more stable and sturdy sound: Sunbathing Animal is an effortless record, and it’s as good an example of N.Y.-garage-gutter-rock as you’re going to get your peepers on. Nothing solidifies a record as a New York record more than its ability to soundtrack your stroll through a city, and Sunbathing Animal appears prepped to take that theory in stride.
Sunbathing Animal