Sunbathing Animal
Mom & Pop
Parquet Courts, the Brookly-based punk outfit that blew up the independent scene, have done exactly what they needed to for their second album: write what they wanted. Sunbathing Animal is not Light Up Gold; sure, the sounds are still there, but the music is different. There's less pop, but more substance. Where Courts may have abandoned summertime bounce, they substituted texture and depth. Animal is less accessible, but much more mature than it's predecessor, showing a band that knows when to cut ties with their influences and become more than what they listened to as kids. Don't get me wrong, you could still confuse them for the Stooges, or maybe Joy Division in their "Warsaw" days, but these guys have gone from misplaced tribute band to full-on sludge-punk rockers in their own right.
Listen:
Sunbathing Animal
Black and White
Instant Disassembly
