Latest Release
- 16 AUG 2023
- 1 Song
- Greenwich (Daniel Avery Interpolation) - Single · 2023
- Something Changed (Water From Your Eyes Interpolation) - Single · 2023
- Toni (Jesu Interpolation) - Single · 2023
- Passenger (Jeff Parker Interpolation) - Single · 2023
- Big Shot City (Makaya McCraven Interpolation) - Single · 2023
- Fables (Edit) - Single · 2022
- The Other Side of Make-Believe · 2022
- The Other Side of Make-Believe · 2022
- The Other Side of Make-Believe · 2022
- The Other Side of Make-Believe · 2022
Essential Albums
- Interpol set the bar very high for themselves with their debut Turn On the Bright Lights, but managed to match or exceed expectations with their second record. While the first album went heavy on grim atmosphere and a vague but potent air of romantic anguish, Antics doubles down on hooks and precisely calibrated rhythms, resulting in a tighter and more concentrated set of songs. The songwriting, particularly on the hits “Evil” and “C’mere”, is brighter and more melodically generous than most anything on Bright Lights without sacrificing any of the group’s shadowy mystique. Singer and guitarist Paul Banks’ vocals are higher in the mix, which places more emphasis on his inscrutable lyrics. Some lines are so odd and awkward they make the song more memorable than it might be otherwise—“We spies, we slow hands, put the weights around yourself”—while other lyrics are like Rorschach blots set to music, like when Banks passionately bleats “Combat salacious removal” a few times at the climax of “Length of Love”. Banks’ best lines are evocative phrases that pop up out of nowhere at the most dramatic moment of a song, like when he belts out “You’re making people’s lives feel less private” midway through the careening “Not Even Jail”. Banks was clearly aware that most anything sounded intense and serious with his nasal and stentorian voice, and that nonsense hits better with a paranoid, bug-eyed tone. “Evil” stands out as a major career highlight, and serves as a showcase for each member of the quartet at their best. Carlos D’s bass groove sounds like a twitchier version of Kim Deal’s style on the first few Pixies records, while Sam Fogarino brings a little swing to the galloping beat and Daniel Kessler’s lead guitar alternates between jitters and elegance. Banks’ verse melody—“Rosemary, heaven restores you in life”—is so lovely that you can miss that he’s suddenly addressing another woman named Sandy in the chorus. The lyrics are vivid but resist narrative, so it ends up sounding like a portrait of a manipulative cad who maybe isn’t actually cut out to be a player.
- Interpol emerged in the early 2000s with a fully formed aesthetic, albeit one indebted to the post-punk canon—the dour gothic brutalism of Joy Division and Bauhaus crossed with the melodramatic romanticism of Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure. The broad strokes of their sound may be familiar, but their distinctive personality comes through in the details, like Sam Fogarino’s intricate-yet-forceful drumming and the often baffling lyricism of singer Paul Banks. Their debut album, Turn On the Bright Lights, was greeted as an instant classic upon its release in the summer of 2002. The timing was perfect—their strict dress code of all-black suits set them up to be perceived as upscale rivals of the leather jacket-clad Strokes; they arrived just as the post-punk revival was taking off; and the bleak and stately ballad “NYC” tapped into a post-9/11 sentimentality for New York City, even if no one really knew what “the subway is a porno” was supposed to mean. It’s a record that feels both timeless and rooted in a very specific moment, a window into a debauched turn-of-the-21st-century Manhattan full of young women whose stories are “boring and stuff”, friends who “don’t waste wine when there’s words to sell”, and there are always 200 couches where you can sleep tight and/or have a “grim rite”. The best songs on Bright Lights bring both a wild-hair urgency and understated sophistication to music that may otherwise feel overly cold and aloof. “PDA” seems to blast forward like a cannonball, but is sweetened by the plaintive tone of Daniel Kessler’s treble-heavy lead guitar. “Obstacle 1” has a similar forward momentum, but the twitchy rhythm of the guitar is complemented by the subtle swing of Fogarino’s constantly shifting percussion. “Obstacle 2” and “The New” both benefit from the melodic undertow of Carlos D’s bass, which nudges the songs toward a majestic melancholy that’s more glamorous than sad sack.
Albums
- 2022
- 2022
- 2022
- 2022
Artist Playlists
- Going beyond the Joy Division comparisons.
- The bands that inspired the post-punk revival of the early '00s.
- Channelling grit and gloom in keening guitars and taut basslines.
More To Hear
- Strombo shines a light on the New York band.
- Celebrating the Sleeve Notes episode on Interpol's debut album.
- The New York band talk through their 2002 debut album.
- The New York group talk through their 2002 debut.
- The year's best tracks, plus Christine and the Queens and IDLES.
- Kilo Kish takes over for two hours of wildly eclectic tracks.
About Interpol
A key figure in the 2000s post-punk revival, indie-rock band Interpol has crafted a dark, atmospheric sound that’s influenced such successors as The Killers. ∙ BBC Radio 1 host John Peel liked their demo and asked them to record a session for his show, leading to a deal with Matador Records. ∙ Interpol’s debut LP, 2002’s Turn On the Bright Lights, was named one of the top albums of the decade by Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. ∙ In 2004, the band had their first Top 20 US hit, “Slow Hands,” which was later covered by rapper Azealia Banks. ∙ Their major-label debut, 2007’s Our Love to Admire, was their biggest chart success, debuting in the Top 5 in both the US and the UK. ∙ The lead single from Our Love to Admire, “The Heinrich Maneuver,” was their only hit to appear on the Billboard Pop singles chart. ∙ The group is extremely popular in Mexico City, where singer-guitarist Paul Banks lived as a teen and where they filmed the video for 2018’s “The Rover.”
- ORIGIN
- New York, NY, United States
- FORMED
- 1997
- GENRE
- Alternative