Sparkles & Mud
Carton, 2023
9/10
A French outfit consisting of some very talented musicians, Parquet breed an exciting and distinct version of rock, where noisy, electronic and techno moments aren’t in short supply.
The 8+ minutes of the atmospheric “Intro” opens the listen with Seb Brun’s thumping drums and Clément Édouard’s chilling electronics complementing the jagged guitars, and “Brute” follows with a buzzing energy that benefits much from Jean-Francois Riffaud’s chunky bass.
Into the middle, the lively and club ready “Miami Vice” finds itself in mesmerizing textures of stylish electro-rock, while “Manaquin” carries some intimacy, initially, before the bright flashes of drumming and swirling guitar acrobatics take over.
“Chordata” and “Parotia” exit the listen, where the former is bass heavy and droning in a noisy fashion, and the latter, the album’s best, is sort of dreamy, kind of melodic and entirely unconventional in its artistic presence.
An experimental and trance-inducing body of work, Parquet use minimal gestures amid the rhythmic waves and 3 guitars for an exciting, multi-faceted version of electronic-rock.
Travels well with: No Tongues- Ici; Gilles Poizat- Champignon Flamme