On the chaotic path to post-punk revival, carried by inspirations from the ghosts of Jonathan Richman, The Fall, The Feelies, The Velvet Underground and a touch of Pavement, Parquet Courts is rather brilliant. With each album, Andrew Savage and his crew refine their square rhythmics and staggering guitars like in Human Performance, an impeccable treaty of indie rock released in 2016 that had its classics straight. Their fifth album, Wide Awake!, is moving further in that same direction. Most of the credit can surely be attributed to the production by Brian Burton a.k.a. Danger Mouse. “It’s pretty healthy to step out of one’s comfort zone, explains Savage. I personally liked the fact that I was writing a record that indebted to punk and funk, and Brian’s a pop producer who’s made some very polished records. I liked that it didn’t make sense.” In fact, it’s Danger Mouse himself, a fan of Parquet Courts, who approached them. The result is quite delightful as the post-punk DNA of the Brooklyn-based crew is − though intact − altered here and there by redeeming pop and groovy sparks that easily get all the hips in the crowd moving (see the hit-worthy single Wide Awake). All in all, without having sold its soul to the devil, Parquet Courts feels like its maturing and growing. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz