Interpol - Interpol

The ‘curse’ of the fully-formed instant classic debut album is a tough one to overcome. Like fellow New Yorkers The Strokes, Interpol emerged with a debut, 2002’s Turn On The Bright Lights, whose sound was so perfectly formed and beautifully presented it left them little room for development. After all, where does one go next: repeat the formula, or take a complete left-turn? The Strokes attempted the latter on First Impressions Of Earth, adding terrible heavy metal guitar solos to their repertoire in the process, and the effect was disastrous. Interpol appear to be going down the road of repeating themselves, and on this latest evidence look bound for terminal decline - they seem unable or unwilling to move on from their Joy Division- and Cure-indebted sound.
 
To be fair, Paul Banks and co. Did manage to avoid the sophomore slump on Antics; although that record didn’t develop the band’s sound much, it did maintain their high standards – plus, it had ‘Not Even Jail’ on it, to this day their best song to these ears.  But third album Our Love To Admire represented a severe dip in form, its overly-polished production, stadium-aimed choruses and shallow themes ringing hollow for the most part. Indeed, listening to ‘No I In Threesome’’s cringe-inducing lyrics about trying to persuade a less-than-enthusiastic girlfriend into having a ménage à trois  – the sort of stuff even Johnny Borrell might think twice about committing to tape – it was safe to conclude that things were not turning out as you had hoped for Interpol.
 
This self-titled fourth album is thankfully shorn of such deluded is-he-really-doing-this moments; instead, it merely sounds pedestrian, as if the band are operating at half-power. Banks’ voice has been an instrument without peer on previous outings: when he sang of leaving his violent past behind in a bid to salvage a relationship on ‘Not Even Jail’ he conjured up an almost unbearable tension; here, by contrast, he sings with all the conviction of a man trying to remember if he’s left the iron on at home.
 
That Interpol can turn a tune and nail pitch-perfect choruses is not in doubt – early singles ‘Barricade’ and ‘Lights’ thankfully ensure that continues to be the case – but a few shades more passion and enthusiasm could easily have gone into this ultimately lacklustre affair. Talismanic bassist Carlos D. left the band subsequent to the recording of Interpol. Perhaps his departure will encourage the band out of their comfort zone; based on this, could certainly do with some inspiration.