Parquet Courts share "Black Widow Spider" from new LP, announce 2022 tour dates

September 22, 2021

Parquet Courts have shared another song from their upcoming new album Sympathy for Life — the driving, psychedelic and punky “Black Widow Spider.” “I told [producer] Rodaidh McDonald that I wanted to find a sound that was equal parts Can, Canned Heat and This Heat,” says A. Savage of the song’s sonic inspiration. “He was really into that and probably took some glee in having such a bizarre challenge.”

The animated video for “Black Widow Spider” was directed by Shayne Ehman and clearly takes cues from Gumby. “We were inspired by the claymation master Art Clokey,” says Ehman. “I wanted the video to feel like it was shot in the 1950’s and so I used very old lenses. One was a brass projection lens from the 1860’s and another was radioactive.” Watch the video below.

You can preorder the deluxe vinyl edition of Sympathy for Life, featuring a tip-on gatefold jacket with a glued-in booklet & printed inner sleeve, in the BV shop.

Parquet Courts have also announced a major 2022 North American tour, that has them out from late February through April, including shows in Atlanta, Nashville, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, NYC, DC, Philly, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Oakland, Los Angeles, and more. The first leg of the tour is with Mdou Moctar, with Hailu Mergia joining them for a few dates as well. Check out the full list of dates below.

The NYC shows are at Brooklyn Steel on April 1 & 2 (with Yu Su on 4/1 and Hailu Mergia on 4/2), and the L.A. show is at The Wiltern on April 28 (opener TBA). Tickets for all just-announced shows go on sale Friday, September 24 at 10 AM local time, and there’s an AmEx presale for the Brooklyn Steel shows that starts today at noon.

The band are on tour now and play Colorado’s Red Rocks tonight, opening for Portugal. The Man, and fall dates include an Asbury Park show at The Stone Pony on November 6. All tour dates are listed below.

Sympathy for Life will be out October 22 via Rough Trade.

PARQUET COURTS TOUR DATES
Wed. Sept. 22 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre &
Fri. Sept. 24 – Marfa, TX @ Trans-Pecos Festival
Sun. Sept. 26 – Accord, NY @ Woodsist Festival
Sat. Oct. 2 – Tampa, FL @ Gasparilla Music Festival
Thu. Oct. 28 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom ^
Fri. Oct. 29 – Richmond, VA @ The National ^
Sat. Oct. 30 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar ^
Sun. Oct. 31 – Lancaster, PA @ Tellus360 ^
Wed. Nov. 03 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground !
Thu. Nov. 04 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre !
Fri. Nov. 05 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts !
Sat. Nov. 06 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony !
Mon. Nov. 15 – Dallas, TX @ Studio at the Factory
Wed. Nov. 17 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
Fri. Nov. 19 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre
Sun. Nov. 21 – Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital Music Festival
Sun. Feb. 27 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
Mon. Feb. 28 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre *
Wed. March 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Thu. March 3 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn *
Fri. March 4 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom *
Sat. March 5 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
Mon. March 7 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall *
Tue. March 8 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
Thu. March 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
Fri. March 11 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall *
Sat. March 12 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre *
Sun. March 13 – Detroit, MI @ MOCAD *
Tue. Mar. 15, 2022 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
Wed. Mar. 16, 2022 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre *
Thu. March 17 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
Fri. March 18 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre *
Thu. March 31 – Boston, MA @ Royale #
Fri. April 1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel $
Sat. April 2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel #
Mon. April 4 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
Tue. April 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore %
Fri. April 22 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
Sat. April 23 – Vancouver, BC @ The Imperial
Mon. April 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Wed. April 27 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Thu. April 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern Theatre
Fri. April 29 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
Sat. April 30 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
Sat. May 21 – Paris, FR @ La Trianon
Sun. May 22 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix
Tue. May 24 – Cologne, DE @ Stollwerck
Wed. May 25 – Berlin, DE @ Heimathafen Neukölln
Fri. May 27 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Sat. May 28 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Mon. May 30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Tue. May 31 – Lille, FR @ Le Grand Mix
Wed. June 1 – Lyon, FR @ Epicerie Moderne
Fri. June 3 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
Wed. June 8 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk
Thu. June 9 – London, UK @ Brixton O2 Academy
Sat. June 11 – Dublin, IE @ Helix
Sun. June 12 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
Mon. June 13 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
Wed. June 15 – Glasgow, UK @ The Barrowland Ballroom
Thu. June 16 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute