Human Performance

This article is about the Parquet Courts album. For the peer-reviewed journal, see Human Performance (journal).

Human Performance is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Parquet Courts, released on April 8, 2016 on Rough Trade Records.^[14]

Human Performance
Studio album by Parquet Courts
Released	April 8, 2016
Genre	Indie rock art punk experimental rock post-punk garage rock[1]
Length	42:20
Language	English
Label	Rough Trade
Parquet Courts chronology
Monastic Living (2015) Human Performance (2016) Milano (2017)
Singles from Human Performance
"Dust" Released: February 4, 2016 "Berlin Got Blurry" Released: February 25, 2016 "Outside" Released: March 24, 2016 "Human Performance" Released: April 6, 2016

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.9/10[2]
Metacritic	82/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	A−[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[6]
The Guardian	[7]
NME	4/5[8]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Spin	8/10[12]
Vice	A[13]

The album was preceded by the singles "Dust", "Berlin Got Blurry", "Outside", and "Human Performance". It received a nomination for Best Recording Package at the 2017 Grammy Awards.

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."^[15] Vocalist and guitarist Andrew Savage likened the experience to recording The Beatles' White Album: "I imagine it’s what recording [that album] would’ve been like except the whole band was getting along and nobody’s girlfriend was there."^[15]

Artwork

Receiving a nomination for Best Recording Package at the 2017 Grammy Awards, 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 [also] within the lyrics of the record."^[16]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank	Ref.
Paste	The 50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	20	[17]
Pitchfork	The 20 Best Rock Albums of 2016	2016	—	[18]
Pitchfork	The 50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	26	[19]
Rolling Stone	50 Best Albums of 2016	2016	17	[20]
The Skinny	Top 50 Albums of 2016	2016	9	[21]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Dust"	Brown and Savage	3:57
2.	"Human Performance"	Savage	4:15
3.	"Outside"	Savage	1:45
4.	"I Was Just Here"	Yeaton, Savage and Brown	1:48
5.	"Paraphrased"	Savage	3:01
6.	"Captive of the Sun"	Brown	2:03
7.	"Steady on My Mind"	Brown	3:38
8.	"One Man No City"	Brown	6:24
9.	"Berlin Got Blurry"	Savage	3:26
10.	"Keep It Even"	Brown	2:47
11.	"Two Dead Cops"	Savage	3:05
12.	"Pathos Prairie"	Savage	2:51
13.	"It's Gonna Happen"	Savage, Yeaton	3:20
Total length:			42:20

All tracks are written by Parquet Courts

Digital bonus track

No.	Title	Lead vocals	Length
14.	"Already Dead"	Brown	3:51
Total length:			46:11

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

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22]	100
French Albums (SNEP)[23]	109
UK Albums (OCC)[24]	50
US Billboard 200[25]	118

References

1. Jackson, Josh. "The 50 Best Garage Rock Albums of All Time". pastemagazine. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
2. "Human Performance by Parquet Courts reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
3. "Reviews for Human Performance by Parquet Courts". Metacritic. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
4. Sendra, Tim. "Human Performance – Parquet Courts". AllMusic. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
5. Warwick, Kevin (April 8, 2016). "Parquet Courts make anxiety and detachment sound refreshing". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
6. Brown, Eric Renner (April 12, 2016). "Parquet Courts' Human Performance: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
7. Jonze, Tim (April 14, 2016). "Parquet Courts: Human Performance review – a New York punk state of mind". The Guardian. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
8. Homewood, Ben (April 7, 2016). "Parquet Courts – 'Human Performance' Review". NME. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
9. Pelly, Jenn (April 7, 2016). "Parquet Courts: Human Performance". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
10. Perry, Andrew (May 2016). "Parquet Courts: Human Performance". Q (358): 116.
11. Sheffield, Rob (April 15, 2016). "Human Performance". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
12. Weiss, Dan (April 8, 2016). "Review: Parquet Courts Drop in to See What Condition Their Condition Is in on 'Human Performance'". Spin. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
13. Christgau, Robert (April 15, 2016). "Parquet Courts Are Making Lou Reed Proud: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
14. Monroe, Jazz (February 4, 2016). "Parquet Courts Announce New Album Human Performance, Expand Tour, Share "Dust" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
15. Lastson, Jeremy D. (April 21, 2016). "Ask Yourself the Same Question: An Interview With Parquet Courts". Spin. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
16. Scharf, Abram (January 30, 2017). "Your truest self: An interview with Parquet Courts". Retrieved January 31, 2017.
17. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. November 30, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
18. "The 20 Best Rock Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
19. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. December 13, 2016.
20. "50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
21. "Top 50 Albums of 2016". The Skinny. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
22. "Ultratop.be – Parquet Courts – Human Performance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
23. "Lescharts.com – Parquet Courts – Human Performance". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
25. "Parquet Courts Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2016.