Parquet Courts – Wide Awake

Anger is fine-art on this classy NY punk throwback

There is a lot to be angry about these days. Parquet Courts have just gifted us with a soundtrack to play while we revel in nihilistic fury. Far from being simply abrasive, Wide Awake celebrates all types of anger, in different keys and intensity. In between punk bombshells, there are dreamy psychedelic ditties, slow ballads, Doors-style organ solos. The words are oblique and elegant, and A. Savage delivers them with a commanding voice that never veers too far into melody, even though the whole thing is quite tuneful. The album looks to the past for inspiration, but its heart and mind is in the here and now. Its quality, like the sentiment it celebrates, is timeless.

Highlights: “Almost Had To Start A Fight/In And Out of Patience”, “Wide Awake”, “Mardi Gras Beads”