''Human Performance'' is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band

Parquet Courts Parquet Courts is an American rock band from New York City. The band consists of Andrew Savage (vocals, guitar), Austin Brown (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Sean Yeaton (bass, vocals), and Max Savage (drums). History Band members Andrew Savage a ...

, released on April 8, 2016 on

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

. The album was preceded by the singles "Dust", "Berlin Got Blurry", "Outside", and "Human Performance". It received a nomination for

Best Recording Package The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer(s), unless the performer is also the art dire ...

at the

2017 Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...

Background and recording

The band wrote much of ''Human Performance'' while recording the album at Dreamland Studios, New York: "We were living there, working around the clock, and there was never any time where we couldn’t be loud. It created an environment where we all encouraged each other to explore." Vocalist and guitarist Andrew Savage likened the experience to recording The Beatles' '' White Album'': "I imagine it’s what recording

hat album A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

would’ve been like except the whole band was getting along and nobody’s girlfriend was there."

Artwork

Receiving a nomination for

at the

, the album's artwork is by co-lead vocalist and guitarist A. Savage. Regarding its cover art, Savage noted: "I painted that in my own separate state of mind. I do a lot of artwork that has nothing to do with Parquet Courts, but it was around the same time that I started working on the ''Human Performance'' art, and it kind of just started screaming at me from the corner. It became apparent that it needed to be included, because so many of the same emotions were embedded within that painting were lsowithin the lyrics of the record."

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Parquet Courts *Austin Brown - guitar, keys, vocals *A. Savage - guitar, car, vocals *Max Savage - drums, percussion, vocals *Sean Yeaton - bass, vocals Additional musicians: *D. Crystal - flute on "Human Performance" *

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high s ...

- additional guitar on "Dust" and "Keep it Even" *Justin Pizzoferrato - additional car horn *Jeff Tweedy appears courtesy of dBpm Records and Anti-

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Parquet Courts albums Rough Trade Records albums