"Content Nausea" by Parquet Courts [Album Review]

Parquet Courts are an indie rock band with a punk rock ethic. Since 2011, they have technically released 6 albums. After releasing “Sunbathing Animal” in 2014 and before collaborating with PC Worship, they released “Content Nausea” using their homonym name Parkay Quarts. The band seems to enjoy the anti-marketability of rapid releases and name changes, and I must admit that it is all very compelling in its stubbornness, so I won’t pass judgment.“Content Nausea” was primarily recorded by only two of Parquet Courts’ four members, guitarist/vocalists Andrew Savage and Austin Brown. (The band is still intact. The other two just had other stuff to do.) The missing members, the alternate spelling, and the lack of publicity indicated that the album would be atypical. Indeed, it isn’t composed like a major release. “Content Nausea” is 12 songs long; three songs are under a minute and function as transitional sketches, and two are covers.Parquet Courts make music that has a lot in common with the highly-structured songs of post-punk. Most of their songs are two layered: a stable base (the tight rhythm section) covered with an attractive topping (sophisticated rhymes and noisy guitar solos). The band stays true to this formula for much of “Content Nausea”, but the album features more experimentation than ever before. The band tries spoken word tracks, electronic grooves, and saxophone solos. Still, the best tracks feature little instrumental innovation; it is Parquet Courts’ energy and lyrics that continue to set them apart. In my opinion, three outstanding songs found at the beginning, middle, and end of the record act as pillars that support the rest of the album.The first of these is the title track. The whole album is concerned with modern life, but this song acts as its digest (or manifesto). The downsides of modern technology are a popular topic for artists nowadays, but Savage’s ultra-sharp writing makes the title track feel like a true anthem. Out of the gate, the song moves at a clip, Savage urgently recounting his thoughts. “Content Nausea, World War Four / Seems like it all came too soon / Another carnage apparatus / Such a disappointing doom.” Then, the gallop splashes into a noisy break. “Overpopulated by nothing / crowded by sparseness / Guided by darkness / Too much, not enough.” The dizzy energy of the instrumentation and the physicality of Savage’s voice give the song’s message power: how dare we choose soulless technology over the sheer force of the human spirit.The second of the three is “Pretty Machines”. Of all the songs on “Content Nausea”, this one is closest to Savage’s typical music and lyrics: straight and clear. “Pretty machines / expensive magazines / I’ve been tricked into buying quite a number of things.” Although the guitar part is simple, it is reliable, and it features an unexpected chord progression that keeps the song interesting for its 4:41 run time (which feels more like 6 minutes on this record). Savage maintains his disciplined stoicism on this song, but it features some of his most vulnerable lyrics. “Punk songs / I thought they were different / I thought that they would end it / No, no / It was just a deception.” Parquet Courts were chosen to experience the overnight fame that occurs in the digital age. Since then, I presume they’ve endured intense media pressure that has threatened the band’s well-being. Because of their past, hearing the band’s mellowed impressions from the other side is charming.https://open.spotify.com/track/4cbTj1V0R5l33LJkhI5xGzThe final exceptional song on the album is the fierce “Insufferable”, featuring Austin Brown on vocals. Brown’s songs tend to be crooked, colorful, and instantaneous, so the few that he performs on each of the band’s records are cherished. At 1:34 in length, the song reminds me of all the vigorous, under-2-minute hits on “Light Up Gold”. Plus, the song’s topic – the fear of never growing out of one’s obnoxious maladjustments – surely strikes close to home for many listeners. “Will it end this way? / Will it end this way? / Will the epitaph say / ‘Insufferable’?” “Content Nausea” is a darker album than past releases; “Insufferable” is the closest thing it’s got to a joke.Listeners expecting “Content Nausea” to be on the same scale as “Light Up Gold” or “Sunbathing Animal” will probably be disappointed. Still, it’s good to hear what the band is working on. Considering the album was released a half year after their last major release and half of the band is largely absent, the amount of good material on “Content Nausea” is amazing. Think of it as an unexpected postcard from a busy old friend. - Joe Ortigara