Parquet Courts, gig review

Electric Ballroom, London

Brooklyn post-punk band Parquet Courts

Inevitably, any New York indie guitar band gets compared to The Strokes, though while this spikey foursome bear similar needling melodies, their punk ethos goes deeper than skinny jeans.

Parquet Courts begin tonight with 10-minutes of remorseless, snail-paced Pavement-style grind, at odds with the terse bursts, often under two minutes, from Light Up Gold, an album that has steadily built a following since its first limited 2012 release.

Fast maturing, these Brooklynites deliver more aggression live, with the tension barely dropping over a near breathless hour. They say little between songs, often pausing just a beat before the next. Austin Brown and Andrew Savage share vocal and guitar duties, with a telepathic link that allows them, even while divided by bassist Sean Yeaton, to extend munchies anthem 'Stoned And Starving' with a feedback-heavy interlude that nods to Sonic Youth.

While Brown barks with dry wit, his lyrical partner's gruffer tone hints at a hardcore background, adding extra immediacy to highlights 'Borrowed Time' and the album's title track. More recent material seethes all the more, especially when on 'Duckin' and Dodgin'' Savage snarls “You can't come home no more.” Hardly a worry for Parquet Courts – this band are are going places.