Part One of my Interpol discography review
Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
Wow... This album is like some kind of landmark. Decades after the post-punk movement had come, peaked, and gone Interpol shows up with their magnificent debut. Compared (and quite fairly, if not exhaustively) to Joy Division, The Chameleons and the early works of The Cure, this album stuck out at it's time of release, in a very good way. The early 2000s were pretty much awash in a sea of crappy music, mostly left over garbage from the late 90s. Not much new or interesting had popped up on the landscape of rock music. A Garage-Rock-Revival was going on, but I couldn't care less about that. The Cure were in their magnificent Bloodflowers era, but The Cure were pretty much non-relevant to the world of music at that point and had been non-relevant to the mainstream for almost a decade. Radiohead were at a creative and commercial high point, in their Kid A/Amnesiac-era, which were also records of considerable post-punk influence. That was it. Other than that rock music was deader than dead. In a sea of garbage out there, Turn On The Bright Lights shined like a beacon of light on a pitch black night.
The album, like most of Interpol's work, consists of two types of songs. The first type falls into the category of punchy, darkly-upbeat post-punk rockers. Songs like Obstacle 1, PDA, Say Hello To The Angels, Stella and Roland. These tracks all crank along with a bleak pop quality. Angular guitar riffs, energetic post-punk drumming and melodic basslines. Danceable, but dreary.
The second type of songs that fill this album are what Interpol truly shines at. Ethereal, atmospheric dirge-like post-punk ballads. Untitled, NYC, Hands Away The New and Leif Erikson all fit into this category. These songs are as depressing as a grey, cloudy day yet also as beautiful as the most colorful sunset. Dripping with emotion, even when lyrically ambiguous or mysterious. The sounds and melodies this band brings to the listener paint grand pictures. The two types of songs the band dishes out all blend together very well. You would be hard pressed to find another album that flows together track-by-track so well.
Interpol's approach to how they played their songs also really sets them apart from the pack. The twin guitar attack of Paul Banks and Daniel Kessler adds more texture to their songs than most bands can dream of. Rarely do both guitars play the same riff or chords together if ever, instead always complimenting one another. The guitar parts intermingle and mix with one another much like the 1970s New York band Television. The interplay between the guitars on Television's magnificent track Marquee Moon is practically a blue-print for Interpol's guitar approach, whether intentional or not. Paul Banks sings with a ghostly baritone voice. Emotive and disconnected at the same time. Banks is a crooner, there is no denying that. Kind of like a down and out post-punk Frank Sinatra. The perfect voice for Interpol.
However, the heart of the band (especially so on this release) is the rhythm section. Bass player Carlos Dengler and drummer Sam Fogarino are what flesh out these tracks and bring them their substance. It's also one of Interpol's greatest strengths, a rhythm section that is at the forefront, not just a support for the rest of the band. The bass is melodic, complex and functions almost as importantly as a lead guitar would for most bands. It sticks out in the mix, and deservedly so. The New, my favorite track on the album, has some of the greatest bass lines in rock and doesn't let up the entire time. The drums fluctuate between complex post punk beats and straight up simple rock beats, forming as much of a soundscape as the rest of the instruments. Keyboards and synths also play an important, if minimalistic, role in the album. Always used for atmosphere, much like what you would hear on The Cure's Faith and Pornography albums of the early 80s. Hands Away and Leif Erikson would be the best examples of this. Melodic dirges accented by long tones and drawn out chords, usually with a synth-string sound.
Overall, it's great. A masterpiece and the gem of Interpol's career. All of Interpol's releases are masterpieces of rock music, but this is the one that will always be at the top.
The Black EP (2003)
An odd little gem released in between Interpol's first two albums. The Black EP contains a demo of the song NYC as well as four live-in-studio performances of the band performing on French radio. It also contains the album version of Say Hello To The Angels, but who gives a shit. It's already on their first album and you probably aren't going to have this if you don't already have the first record. Whatever.
The real gem of this is a track called Specialist. Wow, is it good. This whole thing is worth it for that track alone. A fan favorite non-album track that even makes its way into live sets sometimes (I've seen the band twice and they've sadly not played it at the shows I was at). The other tracks from the radio set are all renditions of tracks from the first record. Leif Erikson is one of those tracks and it manages to out-do it's album version. The live-in-the-studio radio session song also feature a 5th member of the band, a guy named Eric Altesleben who played live keyboards and backing vocals with the band during 2002 and 2003. He really kicks ass on Specialist and Leif Erikson. The other 2 songs from the radio set are PDA and Obstacle 1.
It's a great EP but you're better off tracking down The Black Sessions bootleg, which contains the band's full on-air French radio broadcast. Actually you are better off with both because the sound quality on the Black EP is slightly better and the Black Sessions bootleg is missing Leif Erikson for some reason.
Antics (2004)
I had seen Interpol live about one month before this record was released and the band played a few songs off this before it hit shelves. I believe Slow Hands and Evil were what the band treated us to. I can even remember the day it came out. It was a cold and rainy day in September and I was pretty damn excited to hear how Interpol was going to follow up their amazing first record.
I love Antics, but it's my least favorite of Interpol's works. It's a great album, don't get me wrong, but it's just not their best effort. Many would disagree with me on this though! Amongst Interpol fans and critics Antics and Turn On The Bright Lights are considered the band's greatest achievements. It's practically a 50/50 split with these two albums. I find Interpol's third major release, Our Love To Admire to be a much better record than Antics, but I'll get into that on it's own review.
Where to start on Antics? Well, let's start with the things I love about the album. First of all, keyboards play a much larger role in the band's sound. It's not exactly that keyboards and synths have taken over the sound of the band, but they are playing a much stronger role this time around. The album even opens up with keyboards on the fantastic Next Exit, one of the best tracks on the record. The interplay between both guitars is as strong as ever and the band even uses EBows (that's right, plural, as in dual EBow action) on Take You On A Cruise, which is by far the strongest track on the album and a regular staple of the band's live sets.
What doesn't click with me? The tone of the overall album. Antics is a much brighter affair than it's predecessor, Turn On The Bright Lights. It's the most upbeat of all the band's albums. That's not to say this is a blast of joy or happiness, but it is the most optimistic Interpol has ever sounded. It's honest sounding though. Before Turn On The Bright Lights came out these guys were working jobs in the service industry and had a practice space the size of a closet. Then they made it big. Tour buses, critical acclaim and dating supermodels lay ahead for them at this point. It's no surprise that this isn't an album full of misery, but the misery is what I really like in Interpol! There's stuff that fits in with the darkness of the first record like Take You On A Cruise and A Time To Be So Small but the real focus of this record is the more rock-ish tracks. Stuff like Not Even Jail, Slow Hands, Evil, C'mere, and Narc (Narc is AWESOME by the way) are what this record is all about. Fine material but not what I feel Interpol excels at. I prefer the dreary stuff.
The bass guitar gets turned down in the mix on this record, a trend that started here and has continued to escalate as the band goes on. Carlos is still there with moving and driving basslines but they are not as important on this record as they were on the first one. They are still absolutely amazing. Length Of Love features some of his best bass work with the band.
A great record, but Interpol has done better.
Stay tuned for part 2!
