Sunbathing Animal
High-tension, dry-mixed post-punk. Jagged guitars, motorik rhythms, and deadpan poetry capture the claustrophobia of modern city life.
High-tension, dry-mixed post-punk. Jagged guitars, motorik rhythms, and deadpan poetry capture the claustrophobia of modern city life.
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Jittery, dry guitars scrape against relentless rhythms like heels on hot pavement. This music feels like a cramped apartment in July, where the air is thick and the thoughts run too fast. You are trapped in a tight, caffeinated groove that refuses to let go until the final chord decays.
The band pushes their delivery into an unprecedentedly flat register, letting the deadpan vocals mirror the exhaustion of a mind trapped in a concrete maze.
Critics broadly celebrated the album as a thoughtful evolution for the band, warmly praising its sharp production and the compelling balance between energetic post-punk and slower, more contemplative experiments. Reviewers were also captivated by the songwriting's emotional depth and vivid character studies, which grounded a vibrant fusion of grunge and experimental rock.
“An intoxicated, stylistically varied stretch of rigid drum beats, repeated riffs and odes to melancholy”Read review
“I’m not saying it’s wrong to listen to Parquet Courts, nor that they have necessarily failed in their mission, but be aware that this is a re-enactment pure and simple. It is a crystallised definition of "record collection rock"”Read review
“They’ve outgrown the Pavement comparisons – these songs make you wonder if you’re hearing early Wire jam with Creedence while Thurston Moore brews the tea”Read review
“While the guitar work is catchy and accessible, Andrew Savage’s deadpan is an acquired taste, and you’ll find these songs more annoying than enlightening if you don’t get off on his poetic style”Read review
“Sunbathing Animal’s considered, whip-smart rock revivalism is a work of substantial growth from a band that already did "simple" quite well, placing Parquet Courts in their own distinct weight class”Read review
“A considered and brutal reminder that Parquet Courts’ aren’t necessarily an accessible band. Quite deliberately, they’ve made it a challenge to like”Read review
“Unlike its predecessor, this isn’t quite a thrilling record; its energy and invention, though, points to big things for Parquet Courts, especially if they can continue to adhere to such a ferocious work ethic”Read review
“They locate an effective nexus where grunge meets meets avant-rock in colourful pop livery”Read review
“Between the caustic riffs and searing lyrics there’s some damned beauty in Parquet Courts”Read review
“There are plenty of tracks that pick up where Light Up Gold left off, but Sunbathing Animals’ strengths are found in the balance between post-punk propulsions and slower, moodier experiments”Read review
“The same tricks and ticks are deployed: lyrics that veer across street poetry and post-modern perspectives, music that pinches poses from late-70s new wave”Read review
“Sunbathing Animal may not be the shock to the system that Light Up Gold was; it may not be quite the sensation. It is the work of bandmembers in total control of their sound, doing exactly what they should on a second album”Read review
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