Parquet Courts at Róisín Dubh, Galway, 02 September 2015

New York punk band Parquet Courts stopped by the intimate Róisín Dubh in Galway as part of a short tour around Ireland which will culminate with an Electric Picnic performance on Saturday. The prolific act have pumped out four albums in as many years; with two coming last year, and an EP is scheduled for release later this year.

Aggressive punk act Oh Boland opened the show, and their fearless energy and exciting tunes were highly impressive. Cian Nugent & The Cosmos followed with a much more relaxed style, and while most of their set was somewhat dull, an incredible long but well-constructed noise jam at the end of their performance went down a treat.

Like all good punk bands, Parquet Courts have a rhythm section that knows what they’re doing, and a lead section that doesn’t. The drums shudder along with a dogged consistency, and the steady basslines shunt the music into some loosely coherent form. On the guitars, short simple riffs – such as the catchy one in Bodies Made Of – bubble up to the surface, but just as quickly got wiped out in a storm of feedback and manic guitar violence. Vocals veer from sarcastic sneers to furious shouts, with varying levels of catchiness.

Everyday It Starts, with its twitchy rhythms and nervous riffs excels as one of the more cautious tunes, while Borrowed Time moves with a freedom that’s impossible to not get caught up in. The mix between slower, more neatly constructed post-punk tunes and the cacophonous chaos of the out-and-out punk tracks mean that Parquet Courts never stagnate or become boring.

The more melodic and steadier-paced Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth eases the show to a relaxed conclusion. Parquet Courts were beautiful, disastrous and brutal, but whatever, they were honest and passionate, and that made them brilliant.

Catch Parquet Courts at Electric Picnic’s Cosby Tent on Saturday at 21:30.