I was in vacation in Alabama this past week and happened to catch a rerun of Last Call with Carson Daly that featured a recent performance from Parquet Courts. They were great! They always are, always have been. Sunbathing Animal was their third record overall, and second record for What’s Your Rupture? (No big deal) and solidified their Jonathan Richman via Pavement via Velvets brand of Rock N Roll. Yeah, it’s guitar, bass, and drums, but they’re used, abused, and explored in compelling ways. “Bodies Made Of” is anchored with a looping Television-esque guitar riff, 4/4 snares, and no wave guitar solos. (TTLtrivia - You can spot the author of this review crowdsurfing in the video for this song at around 2:34.) "Black and White” is jittery Lee Ranaldo guitar and distorted, garage-y percussion. “Dear Ramona” lays bare the influence of Yo La Tengo, “Ducking and Dodging” is a punky-bluesy adrenaline rush. “Instant Disassembly” is a personal favorite, 7 plus minutes of mournful, dissonant guitar and layers of spoken-word vocals. The record arrives in deluxe gatefold packaging featuring lovely illustrations and hand-written typography from singer / guitarist A. Savage. (He almost got a Grammy for his packaging design for Human Performance.) This is the first pressing of this album on colored vinyl.

• transparent orange vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve and printed inner sleeve
• digital download included
• limited edition
• music label: What's Your Rupture 2019

reviewed by SOCRATES, WHO DIED IN THE F'IN GUTTER 06/2019