Interpol

British music made in the US

You got to be in trouble if Interpol are interested in you; but it’s normal if you are interested in the same named band. This American outfit is on a roll currently and has been steadily releasing nice records in the last few years. They had to be born in the UK, critics used to exclaim in 2002. That was the year when the ensemble dropped the debut record named Turn On The Bright Lights. It stated clearly where from the wind of inspiration blew and what musical climate is most suitable for these guys. Now, this is no one’s fault that indie-rock originated in the UK, while Interpol came from the States. In the vast majority of cases, this is the first album that has the same name as the performer; but Interpol are not subjected to this rule. Only now, in 2010, after releasing three long players, they have delivered a CD called Interpol. In interviews given shortly before the release, the members of the band confused everyone with their descriptions of the new record, sometimes contradicting one another. It is highly possible that they did it on purpose to keep the audience even more impatient.

Captivating story-album

Arguable, the most distinguishable feature of the Interpol album is a story, or concept, that unites all the tracks. As the narration unfolds, the general atmosphere of the albums changes as well. In connection with this, the Interpol musicians apply keys heavily. Even the previous full-length effort by this crew, Our Love To Admire, featured them, but only in the frames of experimentation. And now, you can hardly imagine the band’s music without keys. Success , the opening piece, is quick to draw your focus to the piano, and the following tracks, Memory Serves, and Summer Well, are so much dependent on the keys that you take piano as the basic instrument since now on. The album under discussion is a story about a person who is short of will, desire and ability to believe in anything. We become the witnesses of the rapid soul ruining that takes place inside this person. Only the first songs possess a subtle feeling of hope, and there is no word about optimism. In the meantime, the concluding part of the record stores truly depressive songs. In the atmosphere of desperation, instruments and sound special effects crush like waves onto you. The vocals, in their turn, grow much more emotional towards the end of the album and reach the culmination point in All The Ways.

Interpol will be a crucial stage in the band’s history

If a young band has an impressive start, they are going to have a difficult time making something that will overshadow the effect of the debut. Turn On The Bright Lights was not like an exploded bomb, but it certainly lit the fire in the hearts of the listeners. Afterwards, Interpol fed that fire on a couple of other albums, but the flame never grew stronger. The situation changed drastically in 2010 when the band dropped their self-titled long player. This record shows the musicians as encouraged and experiment-seeking as they were eight years ago when it all started. Although Interpol are no longer newcomers and their fresh album does not have the enchantment of the debut work, a lot of things here sound interesting and new. To the musicians, this CD may, in some parts, be a first effort, because they marked the contours of a different music and different sounding. Time will tell if the band will stick to it or prefer to move in any other direction. Whichever the case, Interpol deserved all of your attention. This is not a record that will make history; nor will the Interpol-ists become revolutionists in music or any of it genres. Nevertheless, their new album is the one for you to listen to and evaluate.