Parquet Courts’ ‘Black Widow Spider’ Soundtracks a Tale of Claymation Heartache
Parquet Courts pair their new song, “Black Widow Spider,” with a claymation tale of artistic malaise and heartbreak.
“Black Widow Spider” boasts a psychedelic garage sound, with co-frontman A Savage saying of the song in a statement, “I told [producer] Rodaidh McDonald that I wanted to find a sound that was equal parts Can, Canned Heat, and This Heat. He was really into that and probably took some glee in having such a bizarre challenge.”
The video for “Black Widow Spider” was directed and animated by Shayne Ehman, who complements the song’s lyrics about a nagging, persistent yearning with a claymation story about a struggling artist hung up on a former flame. “We were inspired by the claymation master Art Clokey,” Ehman said. “I wanted the video to feel like it was shot in the Fifties and so I used very old lenses. One was a brass projection lens from the 1860s and another was radioactive.”
“Black Widow Spider” will appear on Parquet Courts’ upcoming album, Sympathy for Life, out October 22nd via Rough Trade Records. It’s the second song the band has released from the LP, following “Walking at a Downtown Pace.”
Parquet Courts have also announced an extensive run of 2022 tour dates to follow the run they’re embarking on this fall. The new leg will kick off on February 27th in Asheville, North Carolina, and wrap on April 30th in San Diego. The band will play with Mdou Moctar, Hailu Mergia, the Sun Ra Arkestra, Yu Su on select dates.
Parquet Courts 2022 Tour Dates
February 27 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
February 28 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre *
March 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
March 3 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn *
March 4 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom *
March 5 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
March 7 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall *
March 8 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
March 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
March 11 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall *
March 12 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre *
March 13 – Detroit, MI @ MOCAD *
March 15 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
March 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre *
March 17 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
March 18 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre *
March 31 – Boston, MA @ Royale #
April 1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel $
April 2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel #
April 4 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
April 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore %
April 22 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
April 23 – Vancouver, BC @ The Imperial
April 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
April 27 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
April 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern Theatre
April 29 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
April 30 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
* w/ Mdou Moctar
# w/ Hailu Mergia
% w/ Sun Ra Arkestra
$ w/ Yu Su
