Brooklyn's
Parts & Labor create a boisterous delivery of electric guitars, sparse electronics, and rackety vocals. The experimental/noise rock collective came together in 2002 with keyboardist
Dan Friel and bassist
B.J. Warshaw.
Friel and
Warshaw originally met three years prior while the two were working at the Knitting Factory. Both had already played in various noise rock outfits before
Parts & Labor, but it wasn't until the addition of drummer
Jim Sykes that
Parts & Labor finally felt like a solid band. They made their album debut with
Groundswell in 2003. Once the band was ready to tour,
Sykes left
Parts & Labor to return to his native Chicago. Drummer
Joel Saladino quickly stepped in, performing his first show just three days after joining the group. That same year,
Parts & Labor also released
Rise, Rise, Rise for Narnack. This experimental split release featured vocalist
Tyondai Braxton and highlighted an elaborate, avant-garde spin on
Parts & Labor's sound. In June 2004,
Saladino left the band and formed
Narchitect.
Christopher R. Weingarten was named as his replacement, and a 7" release for Plastic followed in April 2005. Before recording their third album,
Parts & Labor had already toured with the likes of TV on the Radio,
Deerhoof,
Melt Banana,
Lightning Bolt,
Enon, and
Oneida.
Friel and
Warshaw also founded Cardboard Records, home to
Pterodactyl,
Big Bear, and
Aa. The band got back to its noise rock roots for
Stay Afraid (2006), a roisterous first release for Jagjaguwar/Brah.
Mapmaker followed in 2007. In 2008,
Parts & Labor released
Escapers 2: Grind Pop. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
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