Parquet Courts Announce New Album ‘Human Performance,’ Share Propulsive ‘Dust’

Parquet Courts’ proper lineup will return for their first full-length album since 2014’s Sunbathing Animal. (The band released Content Nausea under the name Parkay Quarts later that year without bassist Sean Yeaton and drummer Max Savage.)

Human Performance, the band's first album for Rough Trade, is due out April 8. It follows last year’s Monastic Living EP and their Live at Third Man Records LP. Today (Feb. 5), the New York City garage-rockers have unveiled a Johann Rashid-directed video for lead track and single “Dust.” Somewhat fittingly, the bizarre, sepia-colored clip stars an office worker deeply troubled by a human-sized, trumpet-playing dust monster. Check it out at the top of the page. Parquet Courts also debuted the Human Performance track “Outside” live at KFUV earlier this week. That can be seen at the bottom of the page.

In a press release, co-frontman Austin Brown -- who produced the LP -- said the new album is inspired by “the unavoidable noise of NYC that can be maddening, the kind of impossible struggle against clutter, whether it’s physical or mental or social.”

“I began to question my humanity, and if it was always as sincere as I thought, or if it was a performance,” fellow singer-guitarist Andrew Savage added. “I felt like a sort of malfunctioning apparatus, like a machine programmed to be human showing signs of defect.”

Take a look at Human Performance’s cover art and track list, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates, below:

Human Performance Track List
1. "Dust"
2. "Human Performance"
3. "Outside"
4. "I Was Just Here"
5. "Paraphrased"
6. "Captive Of The Sun"
7. "Steady On My Mind"
8. "On Man, No City"
9. "Berlin Got Blurry"
10. "Keep It Even"
11. "Two Dead Cops"
12. "Pathos Prairie"
13. "It’s Gonna Happen"

Parquet Courts Tour
Feb. 15: Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
Feb. 16: Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
Feb. 18: Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
Feb. 19: Calgary, Alberta - Commonwealth Bar
Feb. 20: Vancouver, British Columbia - Rickshaw Theater
Feb. 23: Seattle, WA - Neumos
Feb. 24: Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
Feb. 26: Oakland, CA - The New Parish
Feb. 27: Los Angeles, CA - American Legion Hall
March 12: Marfa, TX - Marfa Myths
April 14: Providence, RI -The Met
April 15: Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
April 16: Kingston, NY - BSP Kingston
April 17: Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit
April 18: Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
April 20: Chicago, IL - Metro
April 21: Detroit, MI - Marble Bar
April 22: Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Theater
April 28: Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
April 30: Austin, TX - Levitation Festival
May 2: Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's
May 11: Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
May 12: Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
May 13: Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
May 15: Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival
May 16: Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
May 17: Asheville, NC - The Mothlight
May 18: Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater
May 20: New York, NY - Webster Hall
June 4: Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival
June 12: London, England - Field Day
June 14: Bristol, England - Trinity
June 15: Liverpool, England - New Kazimier
June 16: Edinburgh, Scotland - La Belle Angele
June 17: Leeds, England - Irish Centre
June 18: Manchester, England - Gorilla