INTERPOL – INTERPOL

Interpol’s debut album Turn On the Bright Lights was a statement in name and sound. It was fresh and vital, it harked back to classic bands like Joy Division yet moved definitely forward. Since then the band have struggled. Two solid but scratchy albums followed, and this eponymous fourth album seems to be making a statement in title and sound. Back to the basics: rhythm section front and centre, guitars locked in, Paul Banks baritone as sombre as ever. Both Success and Barricade are examples of songs that would fit perfectly on Bright Lights, but like much of Interpol they are far from catchy, immediate moments. Perhaps because they have focused back on what is the core of Interpol the band, those few times that they do depart from this are some of the albums best. Always Malaise (The Man I Am) builds the tension musically around an ambivalent love song, while the closing Undoing plays along some shimmering guitar work and an ominous, lurking bottom end that leaves you surprisingly upbeat. A move in the right direction.

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