Album review by Sonny Drake
The new EP from New York’s Parkay Quarts shows the band both doing what they do best and moving into some new weird, but interesting, places. As on their debut, the record shows the band offering up their mix of the eclectic punk-rock of the likes of Minutemen and the off-kilter lo-fi wit of Pavement. This time, though, there are some left-turns that show they are willing to experiment..
First, opener ‘You’ve Got Me Wondering Now’ isn’t really a departure from the ramshackle indie-rock of their debut except for – and I’m so happy to type these words – the recorder solo. And really is there anything more punk rock than using an instrument last seen in the hands of a primary school music class?
The final track is something else though – a seven minute ramble over a looped beat and sampled apartment buzzers about walking through the streets of New York “scanning for the haters”. It brings to mind in particular Beck’s ‘Loser’ and honestly shouldn’t work, yet it becomes almost hypnotic. It’s great to see a guitar band that isn’t content to stick to a safe sound and with this willingness to bring the weirdness it’ll be exciting to see what Parkay Courts get up to next.