Parquet Courts at SWX 10/11/2018

Wide Awake!, Brooklyn post-punk-cum-indie band Parquet Court’s sixth record is a move towards the more accessible; a grooving anthem-filled beast. It is not surprising, then, that the group were able to sell out the 1100 capacity main room at SWX despite only a moderate success in the UK indie scene. Parquet Courts teamed up with London black all-girl punk band Big Joanie on the UK tour- a raucous group of fierce women crooning a noisy reimagination of No Scrubs, somehow making it seem a feminist rallying cry. They are well-received by the crowd, despite there being a noticeable lack of women at the gig.

The main event kicks off with a rousing performance of ‘Total Football’, which is a total stomper. With driving guitars and powerful drums, the tone of the evening is set. What follows is two hours of aggressive, principled punk music. The crowd, by the way, are loving it. Five minutes into the performance a pit is formed, and t-shirts are flying. Parquet Court’s more danceable offering are given a very warm welcome -- their signature sharp lyricism blends perfectly with their newer chorus-centric, and it feels like these are songs the band’s been trying to write all along.

Andrew Savage and Austin Brown are imaginative guitarists, riffing on ‘One Man No City’ for over ten minutes, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. We are left sweaty, aching and high on adrenaline. The only negative that could be taken from the evening is some audience members taking their testosterone-fuelled dancing too far and being removed by security; otherwise, the American group seem to have won over British hearts very successfully, and their next steps will be hotly anticipated.