Parquet Courts announce new album ‘Sympathy for Life,’ share “Walking at a Downtown Pace”

"Historically, some amazing rock records have been made from mingling in dance music culture – from Talking Heads to Screamadelica," Brown continues. "Our goal was to bring that into our own music. Each of us, in our personal lives, has been going to more dance parties. Or rather, we were pre-pandemic, which is when this record was made.”

To help them achieve that party atmosphere, they worked with two very different producers: Rodaidh McDonald, who's worked with The xx and Hot Chip, and John Parish, who has been behind the boards for records by PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding, Dry Cleaning and more. "Most of the songs were created by taking long improvisations and moulding them through our own editing,” says Brown. “The biggest asset we have as artists is the band. After 10 years together, our greatest instrument is each other. The purest expression of Parquet Courts is when we are improvising.” The band and their producers took those improvised sessions, chopped them up and used them to create something new.

The album includes the tripped-out "Plant Life" single from earlier this year, while new single "Walking at a Downtown Pace" is funkier and more immediate, but in a distinctly Parquet Courts way. The video, directed by street photographer Daniel Arnold, is very downtown and captures NYC at its most vibrant and unexpurgated, as well the band rolling around in the backseat of a moving car.