ANDREW Savage and Austin Brown are better know for New York indie rock act Parquet Courts, but on November 17th, the duo will release a 12 track album Called Content Nausea under the name Parkay Quarts whilst some of the members of the usual outfit are absent.
Unlike most albums these days, this record was recorded, mixed and mastered within two weeks using an old four track tape recorder. With no major budget going into this album, the bare approach taken has surprisingly produced a record that’s very clear in sound.
Opening track ‘Every Day it Starts’ is as raw as it gets, laying it all out with no frills, reminiscent of a stripped-back Art Brut track. A personal favourite and album name sake ‘Content Nausea’ drives with its rolling snare, breaking into a sound that wouldn’t be out of place in the Andy Warhol era, with its frantic vocals pulsating through.
Tracks like ‘Slide Machine’, with its early Brian Jonestown massacre sound and track ‘Insufferable’ couldn’t be any further apart in sound; the latter driven with distortion, which seems to be part of the charm of this lo-fi album.
Expect the unexpected with this record and that piece of advice is ever apparent when you arrive at the cover of Nancy Sinatra’s ‘These Boots’, a stand out on this record. The mellow ‘Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth’ which the band have released as a single, is very much dictated by the lyrics and a great addition to this awesome LP.
It’s really interesting to see a group of writers putting themselves on the line to do something a little left field. It’s an enjoyable record to help fill the gap whilst the rest of the band spend time with family and obtain university degrees. Rock ‘n’ roll.