Parquet Courts Aren’t Impressed by Your Smart Fridge on New Song ‘Homo Sapien’

Parquet Courts marvel wryly at humanity’s capacity for invention and evolution on their new song, “Homo Sapien,” off of Sympathy for Life, out this Friday, October 22nd.

The ragged, guitar-heavy track finds co-frontman A Savage examining modern life’s many “luxuries,” from fridges with TVs to news without “the gloomy bits”: “The ore that became the blade,” goes the hook, “The spices we died to trade/The gun that we used to say/’Stand straight up and down’/Speaking intelligently.”

Parquet Courts also shared a music video for “Homo Sapien,” which was directed by Marisa Gesualdi. The simple clip finds the band performing the song in a wide room filled with odd light fixtures and covered in red. Overall, it’s a pretty straightforward performance clip, although bassist Sean Yeaton adds some flair to the proceedings by appearing in knickerbockers, a frilly shirt, and a powdered wig.

Ahead of the release of Sympathy for Life on Wednesday, October 20th, Parquet Courts will present Feel Free: Sympathy for Life, Vizualized, a one-night-only ticketed livestream that pairs the album’s 11 songs with the work of 11 visual artists from around the world. Feel Free will even feature an introduction by NBA great Bill Walton and a contribution from comedian Joe Pera.

Sympathy for Life follows Parquet Courts’ 2018 album, Wide Awake! The new record was largely inspired by dance music, and much of it was produced by Rodaidh McDonald, who has extensive experience in that realm, working with artists like the xx, David Byrne, and Hot Chip. 

“Being a band for so long, there’s lots of bands that can write a Parquet Courts song, and I’ve heard some that were not written by us,” Parquet Courts’ other frontman, Austin Brown, told IndieLand recently. “That stresses to me how important it is to evolve and move past what might be popularly considered a Parquet Courts sound.”