Light Up Gold… Rode-au

LPs Roundup: Parquet Courts, Double Dagger, Cayucas

Published on April 14th, 2013 | Jonny Abrams

Rocksucker reviews 333 by Double Dagger, Light Up Gold by Parquet Courts and Bigfoot by Cayucas…

Double Dagger – 333

On Record Store Day, that is to say 20th April, Baltimore’s foremost “graphicdesigncore” troupe shall release their final album alongside a DVD documentary of their final tour entitled If We Shout Loud Enough. The film features cameos from local buddies Dan Deacon, Future Islands and Ruiner, but the most fitting send-off is the gleefully scuzzy music on 333.

Double Dagger sound like they’re wearing one or two influences on their sleeves at times here, and they’re uniformly stellar: there’s a touch of Wire in shouty/punky mode about the exuberant “The Mirror”, a crashing sort of At the Drive-In-iness about “Supply/Demand”, perhaps too much of a touch of Pavement about “Space Dust” (specifically “Summer Babe”, even inviting the karaoke by remaining instrumental).

“Heretic’s Hymn” goes from exhilarating shout-along fare into flaunting Mogwaiesque guitar licks and spoken word, then proceeds to provide the obvious epitaph with “This is my last song / These are the last words I ever write”. Goodbye then, Double Dagger, although hello to Peals, bassist Bruce Willen’s collaboration with William Cashion of Future Islands: click here to read our interview with them and stay tuned for our review of their forthcoming LP Walking Field.

Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!

a quail a quail a quail half a quail

333 will be released on 20th April through Thrill Jockey. For more information, please click here to visit Double Dagger on Thrill Jockey’s website.

Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold

This Brooklyn bunch are spiritual allies of Double Dagger, coming across overall on their first album proper like a commanding, satisfyingly sun-dried union of The Jam and Monster Movie-era Can. Wait, make that ‘a ranty Strokes’. Either way, it’s energised and energetic stuff characterised by Andrew Savage’s consummate speak-singing – case in point the Black Francis-esue “fuh-GET about it!” on “Master of My Craft” – and tunefully jangling garage rock.

All the while we get agreeable vignettes such as “Dreary beats over fast-rapped verses / Leaked through windows in hatchback purses”, while the opening drums of “Donuts Only” trick you into thinking you’re about to hear “Billie Jean” before going somewhere else altogether. Parquet Courts aren’t all that original but they hit the spot regardless.

Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!

a quail a quail a quail half a quail

Light Up Gold will be released on 15th April through What’s Your Rupture?/Mom+Pop. For more information, please click here to visit the official Parquet Courts website.

Cayucas – Bigfoot

Californian newbies combine shuffling Afro-pop with just a touch of psych, the single “High School Lover” rumbling its way tremendously to a last-album Beta Band sort of feel. “Ever since I saw you on the back of some guy’s bicycle / I’ve been feeling kind of so-so” evidences a keen eye for a lyric, while the nifty whistling sound and rattling percussion of “Deep Sea” ends the album strongly alongside the twinkly, moon-gazing arpeggios of the title track, but Cayucas could do with mixing it up a bit more next time around. With a bit more time and/or freedom, they’ve got the ingredients to flour into something special.

Rocksucker says: Three Quails out of Five!

a quail a quail a quail

Bigfoot will be released on 30th April through Secretly Canadian. For more information, please click here to visit the official Cayucas website.

Artists: cayucas, double dagger, parquet courts

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.