Hot Press meets Parquet Courts

Since the start of 2013, Brooklyn punks Parquet Courts have created something of a stir thanks to their anthemic debut record, Light Up Gold. Taking a dash of Pavement and mixing in some Strokes and Ramones, the opus originally came out on singer/guitarist Andrew Savage’s own label, Dull Tools. But after songs like ‘Stoned And Starving’ received a massive amount of buzz, the LP got re-issued last January via What’s Your Rupture?, catapulting the quartet into indie stardom. When we catch up with guitarist Austin Brown, he confesses that he never expected the attention.

“We were just happy that it got released on Andrew’s record label and that we could play it for our friends. I never thought I’d be talking to a magazine in Ireland when we made it, that’s for sure.
“We never had any ambition for international acclaim,” he continues. “When we started off in 2010 we just wanted to add something interesting to the conversation – which is pretty boring right now as far as music goes. I didn’t think that we’d be so relatable on a wide scale. I dunno, I guess a lot of people were ready to hear what we were putting out there.”
While your typical Anti-Nowhere League fan may disagree, Parquet Courts are very much a punk band in the truest sense of the word. Much like Siouxsie and the Banshees for example, they’ve embraced the principles of the genre and are creating something new, rather than rehashing what’s come before (*cough* Green Day *cough*).
“We’ve been told we don’t sound like a punk band which I think is a little confused considering how we define punk. By the true definition of the term we are punk,” offers Austin. “We’ve been making up our own rules since we began and that’s what punk is all about. We don’t have mohawks and studded belts. You don’t need that.”
At the moment, Austin and his band are experiencing their very first festival season. With a slew of European dates on the cards as well as his first visit to Ireland coming up, the guitarist tells us that he’s been having a blast so far.
“It’s been an eye-opening experience for sure,” he laughs. “We’ve never done anything like it. It’s a lot of work getting from one festival and country to another in Europe. It’s great because you fly into a new country, often a place I’ve never been to, and get driven to the biggest party in the whole area. And you hang out all night. Then the next day you wake up early and get flown to the biggest party next door. It’s cool to play for people who mightn’t have heard us before and jam out.”
As we leave him to catch a plane to Norway, Austin tells us he’s especially looking forward to his inaugural visit to Ireland and has high expectations from the crowd at Electric Picnic. Festival-goers, you have been warned.
“I’m really thrilled about coming to Ireland,” he concludes. “I’ve got a couple of Irish friends in the States and they know how to have a good time and I expect as much from the lot of you! We’ll be hanging out that day for sure. We’ve played a festival recently with Bjork and that was cool. I’d love to see her again at Electric Picnic. I’d love to see My Bloody Valentine too. That’d be awesome. If we’ve a day off you can bet I’ll be dancing side-stage to Bjork.”