A lot about
Interpol suggests that it's a statement of purpose, from its eponymous title to the fact that it was released by Matador, where the band released its best material. There is a certain back-to-basics feel about the album: producer
Alan Moulder strips away much of
Our Love to Admire's lavish sheen and gives the band a more muscular attack by pushing the rhythm section to the fore -- especially fitting since bassist
Carlos Dengler left the band shortly after finishing
Interpol -- and the album clocks in at a relatively concise 10 songs in 45 minutes. However, like many things about this band, it's not quite that simple.
Interpol spends the first half of the album shoring up their strengths, particularly well on "Barricade." With its killer opening line "I did not take to analysis/So I had to make up my mind" and taut interplay between
Dengler's bass and
Daniel Kessler's guitar, it feels like it could have appeared on
Turn on the Bright Lights; even the name harks back to "Obstacle 1," though this feels more like a response to that song than a rehash of it. Despite the direct sonics, many of these songs take some time to understand; even the single "Lights" is more insistent than catchy, with a drilling riff that builds into a dark meditation on love and control.
Interpol's second half is especially intriguing, giving
Our Love to Admire's ambition a tighter focus. "Always Malaise (The Man I Am)" is thrilling, reaffirming
Interpol's status as masters of ambivalent love songs as it switches between major and minor keys as quickly as a tempestuous relationship goes from sweet to sour and back again. The band gets even bolder on the album's closing trilogy, as well they should -- by this point, Banks,
Dengler and drummer Sam Fogarino had all embarked on projects that showed they had more range than they were displaying in their main band. Indeed, the looping keyboards and precise beats of "Try it On" recalls Banks' work as
Julian Plenti, and by the time trilogy culminates with the surprisingly spiritual "The Undoing," the band sounds fresher than they have in some time. ~ Heather Phares