Ahead of their (very good) new record Sympathy for Life, out this Friday, Oct. 22, on Rough Trade Records, Parquet Courts have shared its third and final single and video, “Homo Sapien.”
Where previous singles “Walking at a Downtown Pace” and “Black Widow Spider” have prioritized grooves, “Homo Sapien” just rips. Fast-paced garage-rock guitars lead the charge, like a Light Up Gold track polished to a high gloss, but A. Savage has a lot on his mind at the same time, staring into the abyss while it stares right back: “The erotic quality of not feeling meaningless / Reflecting a loving gaze / Commanding and amorous / A matte-finished wishing well / Seductive and glamorous,” he sings over white-water distortion.
Tomorrow (Oct. 20), Parquet Courts will present Feel Free: Sympathy for Life, Visualized, a one-night-only livestream event—the band enlisted 11 artists to interpret each of the album’s tracks. The livestream will also feature an intro from music-loving NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton and “contributions” from Joe Pera, of Adult Swim’s delightful Joe Pera Talks With You. You can grab tickets to the stream via NoonChorus. IRL, Parquet Courts will celebrate Sympathy for Life with a record release show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday night.
Watch the “Homo Sapien” video (dir. Marisa Gesualdi) below.
