Parquet Courts are headin’ down south to the Mecca of tacos, Austin, TX, for a flurry of shows at this year’s SXSW festival. After that, they’re heading overseas to the UK for their first-ever shows outside of North America (if the NME‘s 9/10 review of Light Up Gold is any indicator of people’s excitement over there, the shows should be pure madness). Following a little time off, the band will embark on their largest tour of the US yet, part of which will see them sharing the stage with killer Australian outfit Total Control. Dates are listed below.
Over the past 3 months, people have been discovering Parquet Courts’ Light Up Gold,and very quickly anointing it their favorite record of the year. They’re not alone, as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, SPIN, NPR Music, The Guardian, Sound Opinions, and countless other publications and programs have joined choir. In short, this is one of those game-changing rock n’ roll records that people realize they’ll be listening to years from now. File it next to Modern Lovers and Marquee Moon, because Light Up Gold is here to stay. It’s out now on What’s Your Rupture?.
With the record being initially available since June, and with the wider release coming in January, people are understandably chomping at the bit for new music from the band. Well, wait not more. Here’s a b-side off their upcoming single for “Borrowed Time,” (What’s Your Rupture?) entitled “Smart Aleck Kid.” Revel in all one-minute-six-seconds of its glory. Order the 7″ here.
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PARQUET COURTS TOUR DATES (INCLUDING SXSW):
Thu-March-7 New York,NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ The Men *SOLD OUT*
Fri-March-8 Mexico City, Mexico @ Auditorio Blackberry w/ Mykki Blanco
Sat-March-9 Monterey, Mexico @ Festival Nrmal
Thu-March-14 Austin,TX @ 1100 East 5th (Pitchfork SXSW Day Party) – 2:30pm
Fri-March-15 Austin,TX @ Mohawk (Ground Control Touring Official SXSW Showcase) – 12am
Sat-March-16 Austin,TX @ Red 7 (Chaos in Tejas Official SXSW Showcase) – 9:45pm
Sun-March-17 Dallas,TX @ Club Dada (Spillover Fest)
Sat-May-4 Philadelphia,PA @ PhilaMOCA
Sat-May-25 Washington,DC @ The Black Cat w/ Total Control
Sun-May-26 Richmond,VA @ Strange Matter w/ Total Control
Mon-May-27 Atlanta,GA @ 529 w/ Total Control
Tue-May-28 Memphis,TN @ Murphy’s w/ Total Control
Wed-May-29 Denton,TX @ Rubber Gloves w/ Total Control
Thu-May-30 Austin,TX @ Chaos in Tejas
Fri-May-31 Austin,TX @ Chaos in Tejas
Sat-June-1 Austin,TX @ Chaos in Tejas
Mon-June-3 Phoenix,AZ @ The Rhythm Room
Tue-June-4 San Diego,CA@ Che Cafe
Wed-June-5 Los Angeles,CA @ The Echo
Fri-June-7 San Francisco,CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Sun-June-9 Oakland,CA @ 1234-GO Records
Mon-June-10 Davis,CA @ Davis 4th
Wed-June-12 Portland,OR @ Doug Fir w/ Naomi Punk
Thu-June-13 Seattle,WA @ Neumos w/ Naomi Punk
Fri-June-14 Vancouver,BC @ Media Club w/ Naomi Punk
Mon-June-17 Boise,ID @ Neurolux
Tue-June-18 Salt Lake City,UT @ Urban Lounge
Wed-June-19 Denver,CO @ Larimer Lounge
Thu-June-20 Omaha,NE @ Sweatshop
Fri-June-21 Minneapolis,MN @ Triple Rock
Sat-June-22 Madison,WI @ High Noon
Sun-June-23 Bloomington,IN @ The Bishop
Mon-June-24 Columbus,OH @ Ace of Cups
Tue-June-25 Detroit,MI @ Magic Stick
Fri-Aug-2 Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
Sat-Aug-3 Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
Sun-Aug-4 Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
PRAISE FOR LIGHT UP GOLD
“The Brooklyn-via-Texas band makes near-perfect post-college rock, merging sharp, twitchy post-punk (Wire, The Fall, Gang of Four, The Feelies) and sweet, slovenly early-Nineties indie rock, while nailing all the right 24-or-so themes – not knowing what to do with your life, not being as smart as you thought you were, realizing the world is much bigger and weirder than you’d previously imagined.” – Rolling Stone
“‘I was walking through Ridgewood, Queens/I was flipping through magazines/I was so stoned and starving,’ Andrew Savage rambles on ‘Stoned and Starving,’ a dry-wit post-punk number that could almost pass for a novelty song. That careful balance is on display throughout this album, heavy with bubbling, bulbous guitars by way of Wire, the singing and songwriting mostly split between Austin Brown and Mr. Savage, who are astute enough to write taut, smart lyrics, and self-aware enough to arch an eyebrow while maintaining the pose.” – The New York Times
“Warning: Parquet Courts’ Light Up Gold will induce uncontrollable ear-to-ear grinning” –Jim DeRogatis, Sound Opinions/WBEZ.org 4 out of 4 stars)
“Between the latter-day boho undertones, detuned guitar rave-ups, spaced-out wordiness, and low-fidelity sonics, it expertly mashes up Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Guided by Voices. Nothing out of the ordinary about any of those reference points, but Parquet Courts’ over-the-top energy, speed, and succinctness makes the combination sound fresher than anything the original elements have managed in years” – SPIN (8 of 10 SPIN ESSENTIAL)
“Parquet Courts’ Light Up Gold is a gel-capsule-sized dosage of distilled NYC punk rock: vinegary smarts, reeled-off quotables…and twiggy guitars. It’s maximum-attitude, minimum-patience: not just smart, but frantically smart, blurting out everything it might have to say before the time clock expires” – Pitchfork
“The acerbic lines Savage and Brown spit into the mic about everything from wandering through Queens bodegas (‘Stoned and Starving’) to nostalgia’s relationship with mortality (‘Borrowed Time’) invoke the old-fashioned idea of punk as something more than music.” – Village Voice
“Parquet Courts have produced a debut that’s both instantly addictive and lastingly rewarding: a smart, snappy concoction of worldly wisdom and garage-rock gratification.” –The Guardian (5 out of 5 Stars)
Parquet Courts Online:
http://parquetcourts.wordpress.com/
http://dulltools.bandcamp.com/album/light-up-gold
http://pitchperfectpr.com/a_pc.html