On a sound that’s a coil of nerve, sinew and weirdness, New York City indie darlings Parquet Courts rocketed to almost immediate It status upon the national release of their debut album and have gone on to cement their stake in a pretty short span of time. On those wings, they made their Orlando debut (Feb. 6, the Social) to a crammed and enthused crowd.
You know how hype can be. But in their case, it’s anything but hollow. They’re one of the more original bands in indie rock right now, and the wiry whim of their sound collides the energy and spark of punk and the unpredictable id of art rock. That said, their flights of fancy aren’t exactly the easiest ride around. That’s why the more dialed-in and streamlined approach they’ve been taking since 2016’s Human Performance on indie powerhouse Rough Trade has been manna. Instead of dulling their individuality, it’s only distilled it, yielding an exponential result. Moreover, the added muscle of the live stage was yet another welcome anchor for their music, lending its obliqueness some great heft and giving full kick to their punk tendencies.
It’s always nice to see an interesting band like Parquet Courts hit it big, and even nicer to see that their dizzying evolution is showing such effective refinement.
Opening was the very well-connected Mary Lattimore, the Philadelphia artist who just played Will’s Pub last November with True Widow. A gossamer latticework that occasionally melts at the edges, her experimental harp playing is classically beautiful but also capable of real strangeness. And it bewitched a full house.
