Since I found out that the die-hard New Yorkers, Interpol, has marked early September as the release date for their fourth album (Interpol), I've been shuffling through their past three releases. One thing I've noticed was how drab their progress was, from debut to the third. The debut, Turn on the Bright Lights, is a fantasic work of art, and it has already reached cult status in the indie-rock scene, just in eight years. It is such a strong, such an emotionally dense record. It has melancholy, it has agression, it has grief; everything that defines Interpol's music. But when I was listening the next two albums, Antics and Our Love to Admire, it occured to me that Paul Banks might have put out all of is sadness, let out all the sorrow he has collected in Turn on the Bright Lights; and that there was none left for the other two. Antics and Our Love to Admire are not overdosed by sonic extasy, but it just sounds like Interpol got somewhat alienated by the roots they established with Turn on the Bright Lights. Compared mostly to post-punk's creators Joy Division, -and Ian Curtis-, just like them, Interpol, -and Paul Banks- do get influenced by pain; just pure pain and simple tragedies of the everyday life. And it is this humanistic approach towards pain, the atmosphere of accepting it as a usual fact of life and coping with it, is what makes Interpol's music so special, and in particular making Turn on the Bright Lights such a beautiful album.
But as I've noted, as Antics arrive, and later followed by Our Love to Admire, there is a feeling that Interpol had some struggling with creativity, around that era. Facing struggles on their later albums is a common issue with bands that have ground-breaking debuts, but with Interpol it's quiet different. They didn't completely destroy what they have created with their debut, but their music just does not sound as free-flowing as it used to be. Some tunes on Antics and Our Love to Admire give the listeners a very tough listen, like reading a piece by a writer who has been facing "writer's block" for a time. I have to admit I can not listen to Our Love to Admire from beginning to end, throughly.
All in all, these are just my thoughts.
Though I don't see them as great albums as a complete work, there are tracks that I love from both Antics and Our Love to Admire, such as 'Take You on A Cruise', 'Next Exit', ' The Scale', or 'Mammoth'. Interpol is, after all, one of the most unique bands of this generation, and I am a fan. What I've been trying to say is that they have the potential of making perfect records, they are much more than a band that produces below-par albums with occasional mind blowing hits.
Paul Banks is a great poet on the other hand. His solo effort under the moniker Julian Plenti last year, was a very successful work. And it was also a proof of how melodic and romantic he could get as a musician, rather than standing up on stage dressed up like he's just been to a funeral, singing about "stabbing yourself in the neck".
These fashionable representers of post punk are definately one of a kind. Just don't blow this one away guys. We'll wait and see what the self-titled fourth one will bring, which is set to be released on September 7 in the USA.
