Parquet Courts sign to Rough Trade, announce EP, tour

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Parquet Courts, Monastic Living EP

Parquet Courts, the Brooklyn-based garage rock act whose most recent release, Content Nausea, dropped its own rhythm section (to form the band’s alter-ego, Parkay Quarts), has signed to London’s Rough Trade Records. Rough Trade, who get the entire band in the deal from New York’s What’s Your Rupture, will release their Monastic Living EP worldwide on November 13 to back Parquet Courts’ upcoming European-American tour.

With their signing, Parquet Courts join acts like Warpaint and Dean Blunt on the label, which is itself part of the British Beggars Group, responsible for distributing not only Rough Trade but also 4AD, Matador, and XL.

The real question: have they freed themselves from the “vulgar and empty broadcasting ritual” that they noted in Content Nausea’s eponymous single? In dialogue with this move and with the other bands on Rough Trade, it seems as though Parquet Courts are hedging their bets that a critical engagement with commercial artistry (like frontman Andrew Savage’s ongoing painting exhibition) looks like monastic living that—maybe—can stave off content nausea born of too much consumption.

Parquet Courts tour dates:

August
27  London, UK @ Birthdays
28  Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
29  Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
30  Paris, France @ Rock En Seine

September
02  Galway, Ireland @ Roisin Dubh
03  Limerick, Ireland @ Dolan’s
04  Belfast, Ireland @ Limelight 2
08  Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser Strand
09  Oslo, Norway @ Blaa
10  Copenhagen, Denmark @ Pumpehuset
12  Berlin, Germany @ Lollapalloza Berlin
14  Vienna, Austria @ Chelsea
15  Zagreb, Croatia @ Culture Factory
16  Ravenna, Italy @ Bronson
17  Rome, Italy @ Monk
19  Athens, Greece @ AN Club

November
05  Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
06  07 – Austin, TX @ FFF
09  New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
10  Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
11  Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
13  Denver, CO @ Marquis

December
03  Northampton, MA @ Flywheel w/ Pill
04  Boston, MA @ Middle East w/ Pill
05  Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace w/ Pill
06  Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground w/ Pill
07  Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle w/ Pill
08  Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa w/ Pill
09  Toronto, ON @ Lee’s w/ Pill
11  Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw w/ Pill