I first fell in love with New York City based band Interpol back in 2004 when they were the opening act for the Cure on the Curiosa Festival tour. I immediately went out and purchased their first album, Turn on the Bright Lights, and have been hooked ever since. It has been three years since the release of their third album, Our Love to Admire, and I think it is safe to say that with their self-titled fourth album, the band has certainly honed their sound and matured into a band that will endure the test of time.
A lot of critics and fans of the band may disagree, but I think this album demonstrates the band’s ability to experiment with different sounds while still keeping their same rolling guitar sound that we have grown to recognize and appreciate. This album is also a little darker than previous albums, although not by much. I think the lyrics just represent more of one’s struggles with their inner demons for the most part. Not many bands can tackle a topic like that to where it resonates with someone deep within their heart.
Interpol takes the listener on a journey of an unraveling relationship. It starts off with the familiar dark sound of Paul Banks’ Les Paul guitar and Sam Fogarino’s rhythmic pulse of the bass drum for the first track “Success”. From there, the journey continues on with the rolling surf-like sound of “Memory Serves” where the desperation of the album begins. Banks describes only wanting to make his lover happy and would do anything regardless of the price. The third track, “Summer Well” definitely takes a step in a different direction from the typical Interpol sound with a groovy piano/bass combo at the beginning which then leads to the album’s first single and darkest song, “Lights”. Interpol is truly a band that has mastered a great buildup in a song. When I hear this song, I imagine him singing it in a dimly lit room with a haze of smoke surrounding him as he begs for someone to “police him”.
The second half of the album is better than the first in my opinion. “Barricade” was my favorite track on the album before I had a chance to listen to it in its entirety. It is reminiscent of classic Interpol tracks like “Obstacle 1” and “Slow Hands”. Banks takes his baritone voice to a slightly higher sound to demonstrate his frustration with a situation and rather than scream as other acts today may do, the listener is allowed to hear his vulnerability. As the journey continues, so does the desperation and need to overcome this pain that Banks has taken us on. Rounding out the album are “All of the Ways” and “The Undoing”. Those two songs essentially define the album in so many ways. In “All of the Ways”, the lyrics are enough to make any girl swoon when Banks is asking who is this guy that she has obviously chosen over him. The ending of that song then leads into the final track, “The Undoing”.
This song is special to me. To me it tells the story of fighting your negativity and inner demons in life. Starting out with “I was on my way to tell you it’s no good” makes me think of a little devil whispering in your ear that no matter what you do, it will never be good enough. No matter who you try to become, putting on that mask of being in fashion will not get you where you need to be. And because you are damaged, you constantly seek out those that are damaged as well. You’ve let it rule your life for so long that it has “raised you”. By the end of the song, I feel as if Banks has found his redemption from the whole situation. He is repeating “Please, the place we’re in now” as if to say, I’m finally here and I will wait because I do not want it to go away. I am able to relate to this song on so many levels. I actually cried when I actually listened to the lyrics and the desperation in his voice.
This album is artistically beautiful and amazing. There are so many textures and layers of sound that come from the production that it transports you to this place with Banks. You may not like it on first listen if you’re expecting that same sound from OLTA and Antics. The band went back to their roots and has really created a work of art. I’ve been a huge fan of bands that have drifted into something different and maybe didn’t like the outcome but I still fully appreciate where they were coming from and what they were trying to do. I’m sure many of the people that don’t care for this album would probably be whining if they didn’t explore their emotions and musical talent saying they sound the same on every song. No one can make everyone happy, especially when it comes to music. Luckily for me, Interpol was a “Success”!
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