Marauder

Revisiting a long-beloved album in a high-profile way—as Interpol did on tour in 2017, performing their epochal debut, Turn On the Bright Lights, front to back to mark its 15th anniversary—can sometimes be a sign of a band running on fumes or being too reverent. But doing this smack in the middle of making their sixth album with producer Dave Fridmann reinvigorated the New York trio. “It really served us making the new record that we went back and played the first record,” singer Paul Banks told Beats 1 host Zane Lowe. “If circumstances align, I would recommend to other bands that they go out and hit the road a bit before they hit the studio.” Marauder is hardly a refutation of their past—Daniel Kessler’s chiming, knife-like guitar lines and Banks’ distinctive croon are present and in fine form (Banks does toy with a higher register on “If You Really Love Nothing” and “Party’s Over”). But the live-in-the-studio effect helps make the album feel feisty and snarling, delivering on the menace of its title. “We erred on the side of minimalism and simplicity,” said Banks. “It felt like time for us to go back to that tradition: Be a rock band and play.”