Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal (Album Review)

 

Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal

(2014)

My copy: 2014 first press by What’s Your Rupture?

Parquet Courts were, in the 2010s, the latest and greatest in four white dudes playing slightly above average indie-rock while swearing to the glassy-eyed crowds at SXSW that they had some big political lyrics that were sure to make an impact. In fairness, Parquet Courts have released handfuls of tasteful tracks that manage to draw from a variety of genres and A. Savage’s dense lyrical essays are often replete with poetic intrigue that clash with or compliment his guttural shouts. 

Sunbathing Animal was a tipping point of sorts: the goodwill Parquet Courts had amassed began to divide itself up with publications mostly praising the album as independent reviewers began to turn on the band. Sunbathing Animal’s primary issue is just a failure to either commit to repetition and tension or expand outwards and diversify the tracks; the lowest points are the slow, meandering, eye-rolling indie-rock jam sessions. “Bodies Made Of” is an exception in that it is not terribly repetitive and yet it is memorable unlike other tracks; this is likely attributed to the band’s sometimes stellar sense of dynamics as the song swaps from loud to soft before swelling with cymbals and wacked-out guitar noises. 

“Black & White” is where the cracks form. There are cool distorted bits and weird guitar passages but nothing instrumentally stands out that much. The production on the album is very flat and the guitars sound the same throughout the entire record. One has to hand it to A. Savage for attempting to squeeze personality into the album with his unique vocal yelps and imaginative lyrics. “Dear Ramona” is an attempt at a lethargic indie ballad that mostly turns up boring because Savage is not the vocalist. “What Color Is Blood” is a laughable take on pop/rock with a main riff that steps dangerously close to “Funkytown” (though truthfully, that’d be more fun). 

“Vienna II” is a not quite fast enough attempt at tributing Jay Reatard and other garage-rock visionaries. “Always Back In Town” draws hope: a repetitive but angst-ridden vocal performance blasts through the track as the instruments back Savage’s frenzied sentiments. Parquet Courts should have embraced the meditative qualities of punk repetition throughout the whole album. Contrary to what most publications were too impatient to understand, the insane tension of “Sunbathing Animal” or emotional density of “Instant Disassembly” come from the simplicity of the instruments as they maintain the path for Savage’s ambitious lyricism. It's when Parquet Courts try to venture off the trail that things crumble as songs like “Raw Milk” or “Up All Night” are painfully aimless retreads of better artists that contribute nothing to the whole of the album. The best parts of the album are at least quite good, and the piano on “Into The Garden” is an oasis to the album's desert of dry tones.

If Parquet Courts had chosen to incorporate a wider range of instrumentation or embrace repetition and voice, Sunbathing Animal could have been a great record.