It’s been a little over a year since Brooklyn’s very own Parquet Courts gave us their debut LP Light Up Gold, a release that has garnered a considerable amount of attention and approval from DIY enthusiasts and mainstream music publications alike. Since then, the band has built up quite an impressive resume consisting of a couple of mini-tours throughout Europe, much-talked about gigs at SXSW, Austin City Limits Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival, and even a stint opening up for alt-rock legends the Pixies at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom earlier this fall.

After much anticipation, the band finally released their follow-up EP Tally All The Things That You Broke on local indie label What’s Your Rupture? just earlier this week. The opening song, “You’ve Got Me Wonderin’ Now,” kicks off with a punch of their signature stoner, indie-punk sound that quickly progresses into an addictive chorus “Toothache's better than heartache, baby/I've figured that much out/And I thought I knew a thing or two about the blues/but you've got me wonderin' now”, all accompanied by the shrill sounds of a recorder mimicking Andrew Savage’s vocals in the background.

“Descend (The Way)” continues with the same agile, garage punk stamina. In “The More It Works”, Savage entrances listeners with the ongoing, fervent proclamation “The more you use it, the more it works,” amongst the backdrop of obtrusive guitar feedback and piercing, frenzied riffs. Parquet Courts takes a break from their spazz-punk vigor for a moment and transitions into a 70’s post-punk, Richard Hell & Television-esque strut in “Fall On Yr Face” with a series of vocal snippets contorted by a number of effects. The biggest departure from the band’s ongoing garagey, post-punk sound throughout all of Tally All The Things That You Broke however, is in the final song “He’s Seeing Paths”. The band plays around with a simple (but nonetheless very catchy) hip-hop loop similar to what one would find on an earlier Beastie Boys record.

Although Parquet Courts wanders off from the stoner-punk sound on 2012’s highly-acclaimed Light Up Gold, Tally All The Things That You Broke gives us a glimpse into the band’s musical versatility and the desire to step away from the indie/post-punk/garage genre they've been pigeon-holed into.

EP REVIEWParquet Courts: Tally All The Things That You Broke