A couple of months before the official release of Interpol’s latest and fourth studio release, Interpol, the band announced that Carlos D. would be leaving the band to pursue personal projects. For many Interpol fans, the news of Carlos D’s departure was shocking although not terribly surprising. In the three years between the release of Our Love to Admire and the new album and a couple noteworthy events have occurred in the band’s history – last year, Paul Banks released a solo album under a pseudonym Julian Plenti titled, Julian Plenti . . . Is Skyscraper, Sam Fogarino has been involved in a side project originally by the name of The Setting Suns which recorded a demo last year, and most importantly, the band left Capitol Records and returned to indie powerhouse, Matador Records. With the release of the fantastic video for Interpol’s first single, “Barricade” and in several interviews, the band has gone out of their way to say at this current moment, they’re officially a trio of Banks, Kessler and Fogarino – although for their world tour they have recruited David Pajo on bass and Brandon Curtis on keyboards and backing vocals to fill out their sound.
Art is never created in a featureless, lifeless, emotionless void, and the messy aspects of life have way of influencing and trickling into one’s work, so it shouldn’t be surprising that many Interpol fans will wonder if Carlos D’s departure had some influence on the new album’s ten tracks. Personally, I’ve always thought that Carlos D was one of better bassists this decade and on “Summer Well” and “Barricade,” his playing is the most inventive I’ve heard on any Interpol album as it balances subtlety and explosiveness. “Summer Well,” is propelled forward by a sleek, sexy club-ready bass line reminiscent of the Rolling Stones’ “Emotional Rescue” – but with a darker, brooding melancholy which they’ve perfected over the last couple of years. Although lyrically Banks hasn’t been known as the most profound or best lyricist out there, there’s occasionally a line or two that captures the attention. “Thieves and snakes need homes,” he sings on the chorus of “Barricade.” And I happen to love how Banks sounds as though he’s pleading as he sings “Release me lover,” in the beginning of “Malaise (Man I Am). Some of the songs lyrically speaking seem to be focused on a relationship on the verge of ending, of hurtling towards an uncertain future without that person.
With the exception of Antics, which was for many a radical departure of sorts, Interpol has managed to slowly and very subtly change their sound. Turn on the Bright Lights was probably the most accessible. The songs on Bright Lights felt much more like proper songs where you can easily recognize the traditional song parts of verse, chorus, hook and verse. On Antics the songs break from traditional song structure, instead of verse chorus, hook and verse, the songs are much more separate movements linked by mood and tight hooks. For some listeners, Antics was a difficult album to get into, let alone understand. Our Love to Admire continued with the general melancholy mood but combined elements of the previous two albums – Paul Banks vocals’ had an emotional heft and urgency that no one had heard before. And although the songs on Our Love were closer in style to Bright Lights, there were bits of piano and keyboard, adding a new sonic element. On the new Interpol, the songs share similarities to all of their previous albums. “Barricade” with its razor sharp guitar chords may remind listeners of “Slow Hands,” “Heinrich Maneuver” and even in parts “Obstacle 1.” “Success” and “Memory Serves” sound almost as though they could have been on either Antics or Our Love. “Summer Well” has bits of tinkling piano in the background, adding some extra coloring to the material. But by far, one of the most captivating songs on the album is “Malaise (The Man I Am)” where eerily beautiful piano chords create sense of paranoia, unease and dread. The song feels as though the listener would have a sense of how it’d feel to fall through the rabbit hole of madness.
The album doesn’t end as gently or as beautifully as Our Love to Admire but the album emotionally ends with the same tone as the album begins, with a slow, brooding burn. “The Undoing” includes a verse that Paul Banks sings in Spanish with a dreamy, faraway lilt. Although Interpol’s latest is yet again another modest and subtle expansion of their sound, in many ways it reflects a band in a weird position both creatively and emotionally. The thrills here are often subtle and reveal themselves on repeated listens, so pay attention or you may miss them, and misunderstand where Interpol may be going next.
Released on September 7, 2010
Track Listing
1. Success
2. Memory Serves
3. Summer Well
4. Lights
5. Barricade
6. Always Malaise (The Man I Am)
7. Safe Without
8. Try It On
9. All of the Ways
10. The Undoing
