The use of the recorder on the first track of Tally All The Things That you Broke is worth the price of admission alone. Parquet Courts (or in this case Parkay Quarts)’s new EP largely feels like an extension of the ideas that they laid out in last year’s excellent Light Up Gold. While it doesn’t necessarily carry over the infectious nature of that album, it’s still worthy of a listen or two.
“You’ve Got Me Wonderin’ Now” is the standout track here. It’s got everything that any of the best songs on Light Up Gold had, first and foremost the on the low clever lyricism. It’s pace is wonderful, and it’s something that has become a modus operandi for any great song the band produces. It’s the one song you’re going to be coming back to. While the rest of the album doesn’t touch the levels of the opening track, there is still some quality here to be found. “Descend (The Way)” does a good job of keeping the momentum up. “The More It Works” suffers a little from some repetition problems, but it’s still a surprisingly sprawling song for a band that usually works in the 2-3 minute territory (although it can’t touch the final track of the album on this measure). “Fall On Your Face” is the only forgettable track, simply because it doesn’t really play out much like a song. It acts more as a place for them to put weird sounds and vocal effects. But on the whole these songs make up a very solid offering.
Even if it isn’t the best song on the album, “He’s Seeing Paths” is at least the most interesting. The EP closer completely messes with the bands sound to the point that you completely lose the narrative of upbeat guitar and hastened rhythm. It’s a look that we’ve seen a little before from Parquet Courts, but not to this level. It almost ventures into the realm of Beastie Boys, which is certainly not a bad thing. For a band that lives off songs that act like quick jabs, it’s nice to see Parquet Courts trying new things, even if it doesn’t work 100%.
While Tally All The Things That You Broke runs a mere 20 minutes, there is a lot packed in here. Every song doesn’t necessarily land, fans of Parquet Courts will find more than enough to justify a couple listens. While I question whether this EP will have any effect on a new album from the band, it’s nice to see they can still create some damn catchy songs while trying out some new things.
Review by Justin Owlett. Follow him on Twitter at @JustOwle.
