Parquet Courts’ third album is a bracing snapshot of a band on a roll. Their music is not explicitly political, but Parquet Courts are definitely a thinking band, and a critical one.

When Parquet Courts debuted in 2011 with the supremely bratty American Specialties cassetteits Dada-esque cover art a repurposed Chinese takeout menuAndrew Savage, who is also a visual artist, presented the facts unsentimentally. “Facebook pages/ Boring boring!/ Rock’n’roll has got me snoring,” he gasped over a skeleton of atonal guitar-noise, ultimately landing upon the most sacred of conclusions: “Music! Matters! More than ever! Free your brain and conform never!” Lucky for us, Parquet Courts have spent the past five years heeding their own call.

With Human Performance, their third proper album and first for London’s legendary Rough Trade Records, Parquet Courts offer a fine testament to rock’s continued pow