Rarely do I find myself thanking the English Defence League. This time, though, they’ve done me a favour. The neo-fascists scheduled a march in Birmingham for a Saturday afternoon, causing police to recommend Aston Villa move their game against Manchester United forward by a day. This is why, on a pleasant New York Friday, Hot Press finds United fan Austin Brown of Parquet Courts with his schedule emptied, ready to discuss all and sundry. Although, we mainly talk sport.
“This Friday night game is great – it means I don’t have to wake up crazy early,” he enthuses. “I’m really excited about the season right now. It’s very different to supporting the Houston Texans (his long-suffering NFL favourites), where sucking all the time is kind of their thing. Who knows what’s going to happen for Man Utd with LVG behind the wheel?” Suffice to say that the next ten minutes is spent bouncing from the compatibility of JJ Watt and Jadaveon Clowney in the same defence to the merits of smart minds at the Old Trafford directors’ table.
Austin is clearly a competitive soul – does that bleed into his day job? “It’s not cool to say that you’re competitive, as a musician,” he shrugs. “For one, there’s no trophies to win! But we do get competitive with ourselves. If we get a good review, it’s almost like I need to prove them wrong: ‘You think that’s good? We can do way better’. I guess I’m never happy with good enough.” There’s also a constant battle against boredom for the quartet to contend with. “When you tour so much, we need to keep feeling like we’re doing something new. We see a lot of the same bands on the festival circuit, and it’s a shame to see bands who are just over it. Worse is seeing bands playing the same festival set as last year, coming off stage without having been present in the moment; we never want to do that.” If you think that’s merely talk, take last year’s Content Nausea as an example. Not content with the outstanding Sunbathing Animal in June, another full length effort – albeit under the mildly adjusted Parkay Quarts moniker – followed just five months later.
“We did a world tour for Sunbathing Animal, and had another planned for the fall. We asked ourselves, ‘What’s the point in going out on tour again?’” He pauses, and grins: “I mean, I know why we tour! But creatively, why would we just repeat ourselves? When Max was finishing his degree, and Sean was having a child, Andrew and I recorded the album ourselves. It was a back-to-the-roots sort of thing, and really refreshing. Exactly what we needed at the time.” The band is renowned for doing things their own way, from low-key releases to shunning social media, they’re regarded as libertines of sorts.
And, of course, it means that lazy journalists can throw the ‘D.I.Y.’ tag around with abandon and hail the group as some sort of reminder of a lost time. One American site even ran a profile under the headline ‘The Last Great New York Band?’ “What a title, huh?” Austin laughs. “That’s clickbait – ‘Parquet Courts Are A Rock Band; You’ll Never Guess What Happens Next’. I guess they don’t listen to enough new bands! It’s like when you get these people writing about the vinyl ‘comeback’. Okay, a few record stores closed, but vinyl was always there.”
He grins conspiratorially: “But you know, when it comes to headlines, I’ve always wanted ‘Kings Of New York’. I’ve mentioned that in a number of interviews, and it’s never happened…”
Kendrick Lamar has also declared himself King Of New York, though… “I’m only worried about Jay Z right now. If you really want the crown, you gotta take on the real king.” At the risk of starting more hip-hop beefs, I mention the band’s legendary efforts at SXSW in their home state of Texas. Once, the group would average four shows a day – have they now graduated to the drug-fuelled orgy level boasted of by A$AP Rocky? “You know, I haven’t been invited to one of those,” Austin grins. “I think I spend too much time putting out records, and less time with the orgies. Shots fired, A$AP Rocky!”
Indeed, there’s more new music on its way very shortly, with the Monastic Living EP slated for November. “It’s a bit ‘out there’,” Austin reports. “Maybe not quite fitting with what we’d like our next full record to be. There’s stuff that’s left of centre, but it’s still stuff we like, and stuff that’s part of our band. It’s going to be a bit of a transition towards our next state as a band. I wouldn’t call it experimental, but it might be a bit challenging to old fans of ours.” There’s a conscious effort to downplay the release, and the band aren’t even sure if they’ll be performing it on their upcoming shows – which, by the way, will be completely free if you have a Parquet Courts tattoo.
“It’s this new phenomenon that’s popping up. Some are cool and interesting, and others, instantly regrettable. I can relate to that – I’ve made my share of impulsive decisions! If they’re happy, then I’m happy. Gosh, I feel like a parent saying that! It’s just fucking cool that I might have said something that’s struck such a chord with someone that they want to be reminded of it their whole life. I think it’s badass that someone can be so confident and brazen.”