Interpol

The long-awaited fourth album from New York s INTERPOL finds them exploring dark musical landscapes of layered depth and intensity. In contrast to 2007 s Our Love To Admire, this self-titled opus hangs together as an album, a set of very different songs that thematically connect. From the highly melodic Barricade and Lights through the snarling Memory Serves and the extraordinary triptych of connected tracks that close the album, Interpol have never made work this emotionally resonant or packed with crescendos.



Mixer Alan Moulder has brought the rhythm section back to the fore, anchoring a thicket of orchestral sound that brings to mind touchstones from black metal to 70s art rock, but always remains identifiably Interpol. Hypnotic, bizarre, always indelible, Interpol is the band s magnum opus. read more..

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Complex fourth record, not for everyone by vedderoh1
It seems like an eternity since we last heard of NYC darlings Interpol. After releasing two solid (considered classics by some) albums and a third that was greeted with mixed emotions, they are back with a fourth in which they put to rest the constant echoes of a revival scene that disappeared as fast as it flashed into the spotlight.



Recorded again with Matador Records, Interpol is a masterful hybrid of their journey to date. One can hear shoegaze and primal rock riffs mixed with orchestral arrangements, a composition at times overloaded yet intricately woven. Genders mash up and give birth to an album as complex as it is interesting to explore.



To the ephemeral fan, the obvious singles Lights and Barricade will be the only rescuable bits in a big mess, but to the patient listener the richness of textures and the unclassifiable tunes are the result of minuscule details that add up to an expansive landscape. The concept of an unraveling relationship may contribute to the overall darkness and apparent lack of focus of Interpol. In fact, it is impossible to grasp every detail and taste every turn they take on a first listen; it is simply an album that demands to be ingested, ruminated and digested to better understand it.



Bassist Carlos Dengler last contribution with the band is present here - he left shortly after the recording sessions ended - and it never becomes ostentatious although omnipresent. Always malaise (the man I am) marks the switch in tempo halfway through the album's length. It also provides a gradual disengage from the "what's expected" from them and turns it into the "what we mean to do here" results.



It is Paul Banks' vocals trying to convey all the desperation, frustration and despair the narrative describes, that make it hard to follow the sequence at times. His interpretation is not devoid of emotion, but unfortunately it misses the mark when it becomes apparent his range does not work along with the versatility of the music and the storyline.



Interpol is not a record for everyone. It takes time to comprehend and even more dedication to look clearly into what they've attempted with it. To approach it with a mind set on finding a continuation to the atmospheric tone of their debut (I have read "tepid"), the catchiness of their follow up (I have read "boring"), or a drastic turn from their latest, (I have read "standard") is a great let down. To accept that they have moved on from the search engine tag that grouped them with other bands circa early 2000s is a step forward to embracing a project as bewildering as themselves.