The hour-by-hour method in which the Reader previews the behemoth Lollapalooza—writing about one act per time slot per day, with little to no overlap—occasionally results in the exclusion of an excellent band. And this year’s most glaring exclusion from our guide is Parquet Courts, who were set up alongside hip-hop troupe Ratking and unfortunately lost the battle of writers’ pitches. Them’s the breaks, I guess. Still, that doesn’t diminish the fact that in early June the Brooklyn indie darlings—find ’em on late-night TV!—released one of the best and best-received albums of the year in Sunbathing Animal. It’s sharp but never too serious, offering a mix of rock ‘n’ roll slackerdom and airtight, crisp songwriting. Today’s 12 O’Clock Track is “Black and White,” a clap-along, bobbing number with simple guitar leads and just the right injection of noise and feedback—and fronted by the off-center vocals of Andrew Savage, which stay perfectly out of tune.
