Artist: Parquet Courts
Title: Tally All The Things That You Broke
Record Label: What’s Your Rupture?
Rating: 8.0/10

Trailing in the slipstream of their critically acclaimed debut LP, Light Up Gold, indie punks Parquet Courts are all set to unleash another body of work that only proves their first full length wasn’t a fluke. Tally All The Things That You Broke is a five song collection that solidifies the band’s punk ‘n’ roll tendencies. The four piece have spewed out something that is taut yet ramshackled while pushing themselves sonically into unchartered waters.

TATTTYB finds the quartet presenting an EP that embodies New York, their adopted city. The first two blistering nuggets, ‘You’ve Got Me Wonderin’ Now’ and ‘Descend (The Way)’ harness the power of The Ramones with a concise stomp through indie’s more raucous moments. Parquet Courts even slip in the dulcet chirps of a recorder on the former, that’s right the instrument everyone had to learn at school crops up amongst a swell of ragged riffs and battered drum licks. The latter is the band in full tilt, barging through blasts of melodic yet guttural rock ‘n’ roll. In the space of just under three minutes, the band somehow squeeze in a tense breakdown before exploding back into play with a slew of gnarled fretwork.

After the two way punk rock scissor attack, Parquet Courts slink into experimental territory, not that they’ve started indulging in chopped up electronica or nose flutes we might add. The likes of ‘The More It Works’ has the band wrapped around Sean Yeaton’s hypnotic basslines that then gives Andrew Savage’s plain and simple vocals additional buoyancy as the lead man chants the tracks moniker. The interweaving guitar lines from Savage and Austin Brown cut like razors, slicing and dicing with precise slashes. Finally the drumming of Max Savage remains steadfast mimicking the mesmerizing bass of Yeaton. ‘Fall On Yr Face’ takes TATTTYB into a playful zone with Andrew Savage delivering withdrawn but rapid verses whilst the band around him churn out a laidback strut of a song that again is attributed to tripping riff, a bounding bassline and a thumping volley of drums.

Parquet Courts leave the best till last as ‘He’s Seeing Paths’ takes on a hip hop style bounce, Savage does his best Beck impression with a vocal that is slick but still maintains an air of nonchalance. You can almost imagine LCD Soundsystem pioneer, James Murphy at the mixing desk shepherding the band into a more dance/rap orientated direction, all twisted round an elastic bassline and random splutters of percussion and obscure samples. New York is known for it’s garage rock bloodline but on ‘He’s Seeing Paths’ Parquet Courts summon the gods of hip hop but with their own unique spin on it – less bitches ‘n’ hoes, more converse and doobies.

Light Up Gold put Parquet Courts on the map but thanks to TATTTYB, these boys are embarking on the final frontier.

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Words and Thoughts of Adam Williams