On their new record, Parquet Courts seeks to tie together eclectic themes like police brutality and complaints about the cleanliness of one’s apartment.
Human Performance, the band’s fifth studio album, is a modern day epic, detailing an artist’s journey through his own convoluted mind rather than the typical adventures of a heroic figure.
The album begins with “Already Dead,” a Mac Demarco-esque confirmation of the state of the singer. Some describe it as “post-punk,” so it’s not surprising that the lyrics are difficult to follow. But what does stand out is the instrumental. Clanky, guitar-heavy sections contrast with smooth strums, guiding the lead singer (unsuccessfully) through contemplation.
The next song is “Dust,” an urgent ode to janitors everywhere. The lead singer urges someone to sweep a dusty room, before “it sneaks in ignored.” While the lyrics are much easier to understand, they don’t seem to mean much.
This odd “pattern” of meaning, or lack thereof, continues throughout the rest of the album.
On “Outside,” the singer tells anyone who will listen he “tried to sing all the verses that [he] knew of it / Screaming softly in a loud mic.” While there is some clear meaning here, it’s a bit over the top. At the same time, that may have been the point.
“I Was Just Here” then features a changing time signature sure to give high school band kids migraines. The song has heavy Nirvana influences, and the lead singer chants bleak lyrics over a twangy, yet dark instrumental.
One clear message shines through on “Paraphrased” when the singer declares, “Sometimes [he] can’t be repeated / [He] can’t be paraphrased.” Parquet Courts is often labeled as punk, with hints of alternative. The conflict is that they don’t want to be labeled as punk — but by refusing a label they exhibit a characteristic many punk bands share.
Following this anti-establishmentarianism, the singer also discusses the overstepping of police and subsequent backlash by the public on “Two Dead Cops.”
These songs don’t exactly promote the thematic solidarity of the album, but themes pertaining to love link together the other tracks.
“Steady on My Mind” features the singer promising his love that he’ll “say hello as often as goodbye,” and on “Human Performance” he questions whether or not he deserved to love someone so great. He tells in “Berlin Got Blurry” that “Berlin got blurry as [his] thoughts all hurried to [her].”
If Human Performance is anything, it’s unconventional. It’s hard to know what mood or themes their next album will contain, and it’s also hard to know whether any of their music has actual meaning behind it. One thing that’s for sure, though, is that each and every member of the band can safely say, “I’m not an imposter.”
