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If it wasn’t obvious, Parkay Quarts is the slightly twisted version of Parquet Courts, the contrarily art-punk band that put out Sunbathing Animal earlier this year and has been bringing their flair to the genre for the past few years. With this altered moniker, two of the members of this band are on their second venture for this year in Content Nausea which ventures further down the trail and upon a bit of a pedestal.
The opening track of this record is “Everyday it Starts,” and it has the band beginning with their adventure into the land of pathos. From the beginning, the band’s central focus seems to be a balance between eclectic instrumentation and the rambling lyrics that ascribes what it means to be living in the present day. The instrumentation on this number is steady—the drums patter in the background while the guitars and bass both alternate to create a rhythm akin to a clock ticking. While this goes on and is interrupted by random electronic sounds, the vocals chime in, deadpan, telling you “every day it starts: anxiety.” The song is a mimetic of the anxiety itself, with us embodying the soloing electric guitar meandering through the ticking waves of anxiety. Second number, title track, changes the pacing from constant to constantly shifting as the deadpan vocals ramble in a sort shot at spoken word set to the intentionally out of control instrumentation.
But it’s not all philosophical ramblings that should pull you into Content Nausea. I’ve found myself intrigued with some of the later tracks on a purely base level; there are some straight up jams on this record that are worth your time. Take “Pretty Machines” as an example—the song has this killer guitar riff that weaves its way in and out of the tune, and the song itself builds to its end with what sounds like lo-fi horns to end the number. This song, of course, doesn’t stray far from those relevant lyrics from before: “These days it’s harder to feel, it’s harder to suffer.” There’s also a lovely cover of “These Boots,” which makes it apparent as to the attractiveness of Parkay Quarts sound on this record. This track meshes perfectly with the campy, pulled together style of the band.
Content Nausea is certainly something different than you usually run into in the sphere of the music world, but it seems an apt statement piece in which form compliments content, which is reflective of the world we’re living in. While it gets a little preachy at points, have a listen and see if it aligns with where you’re at.
I’ve mentioned the pop work of Sweet Baboo before; his work draws upon that classic approach to British pop songwriting, which is why he’s found a home with Moshi Moshi Music. Speaking of his label, they’ve just offered up a brand new track from the songwriter, landing him in territory akin to both Antony and the Wave Pictures; I know it sounds strange, but you’ll understand exactly what I’m saying when you spend some time with the tune. There’s the vocal and the intricate process in the recording itself that brings these things to mind. Tell me what you think.
