Interpol: Interpol

Interpol
Interpol
Rating: Woof Daddy

This has been the hardest review for me to write.  When it comes to Interpol, it is almost impossible for me to be objective.  Turn On The Bright Lights is one of my favorite cds of all time, and one of the most stunningly realized debut cds of all time.  Even though Antics and Our Love To Admire don't come close in comparison with their debut, both are still strong records that I enjoy.  Now, we come to a crossroads with them.  Our Love To Admire was not well received critically and is not universally loved by Interpol fans, although I, to be honest, think it is a stronger record than Antics.  And shockingly, bassist Carlos D left the band after recording the new cd.  Before I heard Interpol, I had the feeling it would be the sound of a band uninspired and going through the motions.  And initially, that is what I felt after hearing it.  Interpol is not an immediate album.  It takes time, a lot of time, to show just how amazing it is.  After spending countless hours listening to it, it is actually threatening to overtake Turn On The Bright Lights as my favorite Interpol cd. 

To crib from an Interpol song, pace is the trick with Interpol.   Leading off with three of their strongest songs in years, the cd takes the listener on a journey, with Paul Banks, who usually has a strange way with words, offering up an amazingly well composed and edited take on disillusionment.  And yes, the cd is all about disappointment and resignation, as if the very fabric of the band was disintegrating around him and all he could do was catalog it.

Beginning with "Success," Paul sings about reaching success, but possibly at a great price:

"As high as the day
I read the papers
Before crime will pay
I'll learn to bury most beliefs

I have succeeded
I won't compete for long
I'm not supposed to show you
I've got two secrets
But I only told you one"



A deceptively chipper piano part underlies the desperation in "Summer Well," the narrator looking upon a former lover with regret and seeing they have moved on and flourished.

"I want to stay magical
I want to stay yearning
I want to feel up on your life
I miss you but it looks like you summered well"



All of this leads up to first single and middle track, "Lights," which is a basic microcosm of the album as a whole, a slow building first half, leading to a devastating finale.  And the song is matched with a visually stunning video.



The back half of Interpol is a stunning suite of songs that get more powerful upon each additional listen.  "Always Malaise (The Man I Am)" digs deep into resignation, that something is forever changed and the narrator is so despondent that he is only a shell of his former self; going through the motions of life and living.

"I'll act in a certain way
I control what I can
That's the man I am
Well it pains me to say
And I do what I can
That's the man I am"




The dreamy, haunting "Safe Without," details the attempts to break free of the inner torment, culminating in the desperate pleas of the final lines:

"But I feel this way
Feel this way
I steal, I heal, and I do it again
Over and over and over and over "



One of the best songs on the album, and in their arsenal, is the brilliant "Try It On," with martial, almost mechanical drumming, and another deceptively cheery piano line, which acts a contrast to the lyrics detailing yet another relationship deep in the throes of ambivalence.

"Please explore my love's endurance
And stay, stay
Please endure my love's exhortations
No way"



The final two tracks take their cue from Our Love To Admire's penultimate track "The Lighthouse," showing a more experimental side to their craft. 

"The Undoing" ends the album on a resignation on par with The Myth of Sisyphus with the narrator accepting that he has no control over what is fated, and just gives in.

"I've lost,
I've lost I've come undone
Always losing, and never winning"



The track fades out with an almost hopeful horn fanfare, as if saying, regardless of coming to terms with your station in life, be it one of hopefulness or one of resignation, that in and of itself is something to find comfort in.

I took a long time before writing this review because a lot of critics determined that the album was needlessly and joylessly somber and gloomy, as if that was a reason in and of itself to pan the songs.  As if Interpol were ever to be confused with The B-52s.  This is their stock and trade, and they do what they do very well.   I thought maybe I was missing something and that I should perhaps change my opinion.  Each listen, however, brought me back to my original view, that this is a sad, somber piece, but it is also literate, intelligent and emotionally powerful.  It is possibly their strongest cd, and will likely be my favorite cd of the year.


Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not good; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.