Interpol – S/T

Interpol are one of my favourite bands. I thought I would get that part out of the way right now so we all know how it stands.

I’ve waited three long years for their new album but even the anticipation that I’ve built up in that time could not mask the fact that this record is plagued by a lack of direction and consists of a lot of muddled incoherent-ness. Actually that’s me being polite – some parts are literally painful to listen to. And it’s painful for me to say that.

Their last effort ‘Our Love to Admire’ was somewhat of an anomaly compared to previous releases and saw the band build upon moody atmospherics and unusual song structures. That’s not to say it was popular with critics or a large amount of fans, but personally I couldn’t detach myself from my speakers.

The new record takes these elements from ‘Our Love to Admire’ but skews them out of proportion. It reminds me of Paul Banks’ solo effort from 2009, Julian Plenti is…Skyscraper, in that the songs become too absorbed in themselves and waffle on a bit. I’m getting the feeling that someone has let Paul Banks run away with himself and forgotten that the ‘Record’ button was on, but this time he’s dragging the entire band along for the ride.

Perhaps that’s unfair but ‘Always Malaise (The man I am)’ smacks of Banks’ song writing and is bloomin’ horrible; the eerie guitar, the sense that everything is in a minor key, the horrible disjointed song structure…bleurgh.

And don’t even get me started on the horrendous piano melody accompanied by whistling and skittish drums on ‘Try It On’  with these terrible lyrics: ‘Please explore my love’s endurance and stay, stay/ Please endure my love’s exhaltations, no way, no fucking way’ . Now, Banks is not known for his tremendously meaningful lyrics but…double bleurgh. I’m not sure how this one slipped past; did they not listen to it after it was recorded? Seriously, HOW did it get on there?

However (to infuriate the Interpol fans even further) there are actually some moments of pure Interpol-esque enlightenment here. The first two songs, ‘Success’ and ‘Memory Serves’  have a definite sense of musical direction; the rhythm section is tight, the guitars reverby, and Paul Bank’s voice has clearly matured which gives his lyrical delivery a sense of real sincerity.

And the more I listen to first single ‘Barricade’, the more I am convinced of its catchy lyrics, monotone chorus and thrumming bass line. ‘Lights’ slowly creeps up on the listener as it builds to an anthemic climax whilst in keeping with the dark atmospherics. And finally, the album highlight for me is ‘Safe Without’, which hits the listener with a huge chorus and a wall of reverb.

I love the slick sound this record has and the way that Banks’ voice has been tracked and overlaid gives the album new depth. As per usual, Carlos D provides intensely good bass lines which, in a sense, are the driving force behind so much of Interpol because he has such a distinctive and individual style that gives the (good) songs their addictive quality.

It’s so hard to penetrate this album and if you didn’t know Interpol very well I could see that even the good points of the record might get lost in the ether. It’s a shame that it is so inaccessible and not particularly original, and even more of a shame that this is Carlos D’s last effort with the band.

Perhaps this album is so mixed because it is a culmination of three years of ideas, so it all ends up sounding a bit lost. Or perhaps the band has truly blown it. Either which way this one could be more sour than sweet for a lot of Interpol fans out there.

PM

The good:

‘Barricade’:
‘Success’:

The horrendous:

‘Try It On’:

Interpol Official Website