Wide Awake!
{{other uses|Wide Awake (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Wide Awake!
| type = studio
| artist = Parquet Courts
| cover = Wide Awake Parquet Courts.jpg
| alt =
| released = May 18, 2018
| recorded = Sonic Ranch
(Tornillo, Texas)
Electric Lady Studios
(New York City)
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Indie rock
| length = 38:37
| language = English
| label = Rough Trade{{cite web|title=Parquet Courts Wide Awake!|url=https://www.roughtrade.com/us/music/parquet-courts-wide-awake|website=Rough Trade|access-date=May 21, 2018|archive-date=June 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624010548/https://www.roughtrade.com/us/music/parquet-courts-wide-awake|url-status=dead}}
| producer = Danger Mouse
| prev_title = Milano
| prev_year = 2017
| next_title = Sympathy for Life
| next_year = 2021
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Wide Awake!
| type = studio
| single1 = Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience
| single1date = February 22, 2018
| single2 = Wide Awake
| single2date = March 8, 2018
| single3 = Mardi Gras Beads
| single3date = April 30, 2018
| single4 = Total Football
| single4date = June 8, 2018
}}
}}
Wide Awake! (stylized as "Wide Awaaaaake!") is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Parquet Courts, released on May 18, 2018 on Rough Trade Records.
The album was preceded by the singles "Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience", "Wide Awake", and "Mardi Gras Beads", and succeeded by the single "Total Football".
Background
The album was first announced in February 2018 and recorded from December 2017 to January 2018 at Sonic Ranch studios outside Tornillo, Texas. The band recruited Danger Mouse to produce the album, as the band claimed, as a way to push themselves outside of their comfort zone. On recruiting Danger Mouse for the album, Andrew Savage said, "I was writing a record that indebted to punk and funk, and Brian's a pop producer who's made some very polished records. I liked that it didn’t make sense."{{cite web|last=Kaye|first=Ben|title=Parquet Courts announce new album, Wide Awake!, produced by Danger Mouse|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/02/parquet-courts-announce-new-album-wide-awake-produced-by-danger-mouse/|website=Consequence of Sound|access-date=May 20, 2018|date=February 22, 2018}}
In an interview with Billboard, Andrew Savage described the album having a funk influence, saying, "there's this duality between joy and anger that I find to be really interesting, and that's something the record kind of deals with at large. ... [H]ardcore could be such an angry music form but could make you feel so positive. There's a lot of moments on the record when all of us are singing at the same time and... that's something I kind of associate with hardcore, or Funkadelic."{{cite magazine|last=Enis|first=Eli|title=Parquet Courts on Resisting Nihilism & Why Working With Kids Was 'Pretty Scary'|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8456255/parquet-courts-interview-wide-awake|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Lynne Segall|access-date=May 20, 2018|date=May 16, 2018}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 82/100{{cite web|title=Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts Reviews and Tracks|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/wide-awake!/parquet-courts|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=May 21, 2018}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Sendra|first=Tim|title=Wide Awake! – Parquet Courts|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/wide-awake%21-mw0003154934|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=May 21, 2018}}
| rev2 = The A.V. Club
| rev2Score = B+{{cite web|last=Adamczyk|first=Laura|title=Parquet Courts, Wide Awake!|url=https://www.avclub.com/parquet-courts-stephen-malkmus-and-more-albums-to-kno-1826084683|website=The A.V. Club|date=May 18, 2018|access-date=May 21, 2018}}
| rev3 = The Independent
| rev3Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web|last1=Robertson|first1=Derek|last2=Rentoul|first2=John|last3=Kaplan|first3=Ilana|title=Album reviews: Courtney Barnett, Parquet Courts, Charles Watson, Ray LaMontagne|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/courtney-barnett-parquet-courts-charles-watson-ray-lamontagne-album-review-roundup-a8354501.html|website=The Independent|date=May 16, 2018|access-date=May 20, 2018}}
| rev4 = NME
| rev4Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Homewood|first=Ben|title=Parquet Courts – 'Wide Awake!' album review|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/parquet-courts-wide-awake-album-review-2316751|website=NME|date=May 17, 2018|access-date=December 18, 2019}}
| rev5 = The Observer
| rev5Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Mongredien|first=Phil|title=Parquet Courts: Wide Awake review – indie heroes bring in Danger Mouse|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/may/20/parquet-courts-wide-awake-review-danger-mouse|website=The Observer|date=May 20, 2018|access-date=June 9, 2018}}
| rev6 = Pitchfork
| rev6Score = 8.0/10{{cite web|last=Powell|first=Mike|title=Parquet Courts: Wide Awake!|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/parquet-courts-wide-awake/|website=Pitchfork|date=May 21, 2018|access-date=May 29, 2018}}
| rev7 = Q
| rev7Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|last=Monroe|first=Jazz|title=Call to Arms|journal=Q|issue=386|date=July 2018|page=113}}
| rev8 = Rolling Stone
| rev8Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Hermes|first=Will|author-link=Will Hermes|title=Review: Parquet Courts' 'Wide Awake!' Is a Fun Punk-Funk Protest Record|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-parquet-courts-wide-awake-w520367|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 17, 2018|access-date=May 20, 2018}}
| rev9 = Uncut
| rev9Score = 8/10{{cite journal|last=Wray|first=Daniel Dylan|title=Parquet Courts: Wide Awake!|journal=Uncut|issue=253|date=June 2018|page=33}}
| rev10 = Vice (Expert Witness)
| rev10Score = A{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|title=Robert Christgau on Parquet Courts' Sharp, Sinewy New Album|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/robert-christgau-on-parquet-courts-sharp-sinewy-new-album/|website=Vice|date=June 9, 2018|access-date=June 9, 2018}}
}}
Wide Awake! received critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on 28 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". In a five-star review, Emma Swan of DIY called the album, "a gut-punch of an immediate classic".{{cite web|last=Swann|first=Emma|title=Parquet Courts – Wide Awake!|url=http://diymag.com/2018/05/18/parquet-courts-wide-awake-album-review|website=DIY|date=May 18, 2018|access-date=May 20, 2018}} Writing for Exclaim! magazine, Vish Kanna said that Wide Awake! "is a letter-perfect musical contemplation of modern times, where social uprisings are actually affecting positive change. It's urgent and potent music that's thought-provoking and danceable, and whose rage is measured by a pointed optimism."{{cite web|last=Kanna|first=Vish|title=Parquet Courts: Wide Awake!|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/parquet_courts-wide_awake|website=Exclaim!|date=May 17, 2018|access-date=May 20, 2018}} Roy Trakin, in a rave review for Variety, praised the album for its social conscience in its day and age, stating it "may be the most woke punk-rock record since the heyday of the Clash."{{cite web|last=Trakin|first=Roy|title=Album Review: Parquet Courts' 'Wide Awake'|url=https://variety.com/2018/music/reviews/parquet-courts-wide-awake-album-review-1202814360/|website=Variety|date=May 18, 2018|access-date=May 20, 2018}}
In a more mixed review, Chris Nelson of Mojo wrote that "unsurprisingly, it flies the Wire and Minutemen flags high. More surprising are the occasional nods to funk and '60s bubblegum."{{cite journal|last=Nelson|first=Chris|title=Parquet Courts: Wide Awake!|journal=Mojo|issue=295|date=June 2018|page=95}}
Wide Awake! was named 'album of the year' in an end-of-year list by Australian radio station Double J{{cite web|date=December 11, 2018|title=The 50 best albums of 2018|url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/the-50-best-albums-of-2018/10595676|access-date=December 16, 2018|website=Double J|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ref=double-j-best-2018}} and the second-best album of 2018 by Paste.{{cite web | url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/11/the-50-best-albums-of-2018.html | title=The 50 Best Albums of 2018 | publisher=Paste | date=November 26, 2018 | access-date=November 26, 2018}}
=Accolades=
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = Parquet Courts
| extra_column = Lead vocals
| title_width = 100
| title1 = Total Football
| length1 = 4:01
| extra1 = A. Savage
| title2 = Violence
| length2 = 4:05
| extra2 = A. Savage
| title3 = Before the Water Gets Too High
| length3 = 4:05
| extra3 = A. Savage
| title4 = Mardi Gras Beads
| length4 = 2:43
| extra4 = Brown
| title5 = Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience
| length5 = 3:14
| extra5 = A. Savage
| title6 = Freebird II
| length6 = 2:55
| extra6 = A. Savage
| title7 = Normalisation
| length7 = 2:11
| extra7 = A. Savage
| title8 = Back to Earth
| length8 = 3:54
| extra8 = Brown
| title9 = Wide Awake
| length9 = 2:38
| extra9 = Brown, M. Savage, A. Savage, Yeaton
| title10 = NYC Observation
| length10 = 1:22
| extra10 = A. Savage
| title11 = Extinction
| length11 = 1:41
| extra11 = A. Savage
| title12 = Death Will Bring Change
| length12 = 2:42
| extra12 = Brown
| title13 = Tenderness
| length13 = 3:06
| extra13 = A. Savage
| total_length = 38:37
}}
Personnel
=Parquet Courts=
- Austin Brown – guitar, vocals, keyboards on "Death Will Bring Change," "Back to Earth," and "Mardi Gras Beads"{{cite web|title=Wide Awake! - Parquet Courts Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/wide-awake%21-mw0003154934/credits|website=Allmusic.com|publisher=All Media|access-date=May 20, 2018|date=May 18, 2018}}
- A. Savage – guitar, vocals, keyboards on "Violence," "Freebird II," "Before the Water Gets Too High"
- Max Savage – percussion, vocals, synthesizer on "Total Football" and "Normalisation"
- Sean Yeaton – bass, vocals
=Additional personnel=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
- Frank LoCrasto – piano on "Tenderness"
- Eleanor Adams, Minelle Jeddy, Lucie Bismuth Berger, Rita Bochi, Julian Cohen, Mia Nikov, Kofi Dufu, Ava DiFelice, Caden Castro-Kudler, and Ariane Bourdain – additional vocals on "Death Will Bring Change"
{{col-2}}
- Danger Mouse – production
- Kennie Takahashi – engineering
- Joe LaPorta – mastering
- Claudius Mittendorfer – mixing
- Jonathan Schenke – engineering
{{col-end}}
Charts
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
scope="col"| Chart (2018)
! scope="col"| Peak |
---|
scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA){{cite web|url=https://www.auspop.com.au/2018/5/aria-chart-watch-474/|title=ARIA Chart Watch #474|publisher=auspOp|date=May 26, 2018|access-date=May 26, 2018|archive-date=November 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101012722/https://www.auspop.com.au/2018/5/aria-chart-watch-474/|url-status=dead}}
| 93 |
{{album chart|Flanders|42|artist=Parquet Courts|album=Wide Awake!|rowheader=true|access-date=May 25, 2018}} |
{{album chart|Wallonia|117|artist=Parquet Courts|album=Wide Awake!|rowheader=true|access-date=May 25, 2018}} |
scope="row"| New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ){{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/albums/2018-05-25|title=NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=May 28, 2018|access-date=May 25, 2018}}
| 9 |
{{album chart|Scotland|19|date=20180525|rowheader=true|access-date=May 26, 2018}} |
{{album chart|Switzerland|64|artist=Parquet Courts|album=Wide Awake!|rowheader=true|access-date=May 31, 2018}} |
{{album chart|UK2|27|date=20180525|rowheader=true|access-date=May 26, 2018}} |
{{album chart|Billboard200|122|artist=Parquet Courts|rowheader=true|access-date=May 30, 2018}} |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.roughtrade.com/us/music/parquet-courts-wide-awake Wide Awake] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624010548/https://www.roughtrade.com/us/music/parquet-courts-wide-awake |date=2018-06-24 }} at Rough Trade
{{Parquet Courts}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Parquet Courts albums
Category:Rough Trade Records albums
Category:Albums produced by Danger Mouse (musician)