Review Summary: Interpol fight Interpol by reverting back to Interpol.
If ever there was a band who struggled to live up to their debut, it would be Interpol. Had they released Antics and Our Love to Admire previous to Turn on the Bright Lights, I have no doubt that even bigger success would have come their way. The problem however, is that Turn on the Bright Lights came too soon. It was a celebration of all things Interpol; darkness, quirkiness, frustration and unmitigated morose beauty. The combination of Post Punk, Indie, and at times Progression, launched Turn on the Bright Lights into the big time, setting an impossibly high standard which every future album would be unfairly juxtaposed against; Interpol’s biggest enemy since 2002, has been Interpol.
The guitar tone utilized by Daniel Kessler for their fourth release was allegedly the culmination of a year’s work in a loft, engineering a reverberation akin to that displayed on their much loved debut. A return to that sound was indicated by the band; with Banks and co. seemingly realising that what Antics and Our Love to Admire were missing, was the morbid power that permeated Turn on the Bright Lights.
The self-titled 4th release is arguably the most cohesive work they have ever produced, and is a key strength of the album. The melancholic layers of each song blend graciously into the next (see ‘Try It On’ into ‘All Of The Ways’), making it a fluid listen compared to the inconsistent sound of Our Love to Admire, and the hit and miss Antics. The most striking thing about the album is the tempo adopted throughout. Mid to low tempo songs dominate for long periods, with only ‘Success’, ‘Summer Well’, and ‘Barricade’ breaking the mould and providing an upbeat number, with the latter being the ‘Obstacle 1’ of the album, in terms of being an obvious choice for a single.
‘Memory Serves’ and ‘The Undoing’ are two songs which fulfil the bands true potential. The former features a riff that ebbs and flows throughout the song, providing the perfect haunting backdrop to which Banks’ baritone musings build upon. Atmosphere grows and grows and culminates in Banks crooning “Don’t have to say that you’d love to/But baby please that you want to/Someday”. The latter could be taken straight from Turn on the Bright Lights, and includes a Spanish chorus which adds magnificently to the album closer, finishing the album off on a morbid high.
However, it must be noted that weaker tracks are present. In the context of the album, efforts ‘Safe Without’ and ‘All Of The Ways’ are listenable, but when isolated, hold little substance and are undeniably poorer tracks compared to the rest of the album. The repetition in ‘Safe Without’ stops it becoming a solid song, while ‘All Of The Ways’ irritatingly builds to nothing, with one expecting a crescendo yet receiving nothing of the sort.
Interpol’s self-titled release does in many ways fulfil the bands promise in that much of the album features a guitar tone and an atmosphere similar to Turn on the Bright Lights. In most cases, the songs demonstrate the darkness and beauty conveyed by their first release, however the quirkiness and unpredictability of the songs simply isn’t present. Interpol comes across as a more polished and mature effort featuring a similar sound to that displayed on their début. With their fourth release Interpol fight Interpol, and they just about win.
