Probably a track or two short of being a stone-cold classic, Our Love To Admire nonetheless makes for hugely rewarding listening.
Interpol have certainly adopted a low-key approach in the build-up to their third album, Our Love To Admire. The New York quartet have kept the pre-release publicity to an absolute minimum, and both the artwork and the tracklisting arrived quite late in the day. Of course, there could be numerous reasons for the tardiness, but it’s difficult not to reach the conclusion that it’s a deliberate attempt by the band to keep a lid on the hype that will inevitably surround this record, their first for a major label.
In an age when the key details – and often the content – of so many albums are routinely leaked months in advance, it’s thoroughly refreshing to come across a group who believe in preserving a bit of mystique. Indeed, minimalism is manifestly a key aspect of the Interpol aesthetic. They don’t perform flabby cover versions, or put out stopgap albums, or release tie-in DVDs full of crappy extras. As Morrissey once remarked, “You don’t need all this fabrication… it’s just the way you use the basic utensils, like talent.”
Paul Banks and co. haven’t put a foot wrong in their career to date, building up a substantial underground following with Turn On The Bright Lights before breaking into the mainstream with Antics, one of the finest rock albums of the decade. Although it doesn’t deviate hugely from the established Interpol template (this is still dark, goth-tinged rock played by four men who appear to have stepped straight out of an Edward Gorey drawing), Our Love To Admire is another hugely impressive album.
Opener ‘Pioneer To The Falls’ kicks off with distinctive ringing guitar notes and Banks delivering a characteristically opaque lyric in that unmistakable baritone (“Show me the dirt pile and I will pray that the soul can take three stowaways”). The intro also features a keyboard part that gives the song a beautifully rustic feel, before it builds into a typically intense and dramatic Interpol soundscape.
‘No I In Threesome’ (a strong contender for song title of the year) commences with a guitar line heavily influenced by – who else? – Joy Division, and throughout alternates between elegant chamber pop and more abrasive sonic textures. First single ‘The Heinrich Manoeuvre’ is a thumping rocker that seems to be a withering put-down of an ex (“I don’t want to read your thoughts anymore”), while the driving ‘Mammoth’ finds Banks in decidedly impatient mood, suggesting to the object of his desire that “Now we should dance like two fucking twins”. Using that line in a club would most likely result in a restraining order, but in the context of Interpol’s intoxicating sonic brew, it works a treat.
The album’s stand-out track, and one of the best songs Interpol have written to date, is ‘Rest My Chemistry’, a gorgeous slow-burner wherein Banks vividly conjures an atmosphere of lovelorn ennui (“I haven’t slept in two days/I’ve bathed in nothing but sweat… tonight I’m gonna rest my chemistry).
The closing tracks on Interpol’s previous two albums (‘Leif Erickson’ and ‘A Time To Be So Small’, respectively) were small miracles of songs, and the band continue the tradition of ending on a high note with ‘Lighthouse’. Banks emits a ghostly wail over ambient guitar noise highly reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins, before the track concludes with an ominous, Cure-style coda.
Probably a track or two short of being a stone-cold classic, Our Love To Admire nonetheless makes for hugely rewarding listening.
The drummer tells Craig Fitzpatrick why their former bassist had to go.
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"We'd shoot ourselves in the foot if we did that," admits drummer Sam Fogarino.
Read More 'All The Rage Back Home' was dispatched in typically intense fashion.
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The American rockers are giving a taste of El Pintor ahead of its release next month.
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If you missed out on the first two, maybe third time's a charm...
Read More The good gig news today is that the mighty Interpol will be paying the Dublin Olympia a visit on February 10, 2015 as the last date on their European tour. Tickets priced €39.05 go on sale on Friday.
Read More The comes from the band's upcoming album El Pintor.
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Our man braved the elements to bring you the live action from the first of Interpol's three night residency
Read More First formed in New York City in 1997, though not releasing their debut album Turn On The Bright Lights until 2002, Interpol have slowly and steadily built up a vast international audience for their dark, downbeat and gothic guitar-driven indie rock, garnering no shortage of critical acclaim along the way.
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The self-titled follow up to 2007's Our Love To Admire will feature ten tracks including the already previewed 'Lights'.
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The New Yorkers have revealed the release date for their fourth, self-titled, studio record
Read More The New Yorkers will play a second show at the Olympia on November 30
Read More The band will play their third and final Irish show on Wednesday December 1
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The good news is that the band have a new album + tour in the pipeline.
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One of the biggest draws of the weekend, Sam Fogarino from Interpol was at the Hot Press Signing Tent at Oxegen to meet fans, pose for photos, and generally charm the heck outta the lot of us.
Read More They're hardly typical festival fare, but Interpol know how to leave an impression. Sam Fogarino talks drugs, on the road insanity and being huge in Ireland and Mexico.
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Interpol are the latest big-name act to be confirmed on the bill for Oxegen '08.
Read More Interpol have announced a pre-Christmas visit to the RDS Main Hall in Dublin.
Read More Interpol have rejected the road of excess for the palace of wisdom, despite having shared a studio with Axl Rose.
Read More Since the release of their sophomore album Antics late last year, New York goth-rock quartet Interpol have risen to the pantheon of great contemporary bands. In a rare in-depth interview, the group’s erudite frontman Paul Banks here discusses the making of Antics, their upcoming support slot with U2, the band’s peers in the NYC indie scene, The Strokes, Nirvana and David Lynch - and where one of the most acclaimed groups of recent years go to from here. Interview by Paul Nolan.
Read More “ROSE-mair-ee!” yells a sold-out Olympia along with Paul Banks, as the Morse-code bassline of ‘Evil” jitters away beneath. “HEAV-en re-STORES you in LIFE!” So, yes, onstage it looks like Interpol: five smart-suited gentlemen throwing rock shapes in a graveyard-mist fug that is ‘lit’ (if you can say that about a near-dark stage) in their trademark two colours, black and dark red. But turn around to face tonight’s all-singing, all-dancing crowd, and you could be at an Oasis concert circa Definitely Maybe.
Read More Coldplay have invited Interpol to perform as special guests for their Marlay Park date
Read More Interpol will make a hugely-anticipated return to Dublin next April
Read More Having established their cult credentials with Turn On The Bright Lights, Interpol are back with a new album that looks like earning them a place at rock’s top table. New York City fop Sam Fogarino tells Colm O’Hare how they’re sharp-dressed for success.
Read More They have the suits. They have the haircuts. They certainly have the fuck-you attitude. And on the evidence of ‘Slow Hands’ and the album that spawned it, Antics, Interpol really do have the tunes to back up the hype.
Read More They are far, far superior to anyone in the current retro brat pack, with songs that remind you of Sonic Youth without the feedback, the Velvets without the drones, Joy Division without the doom laden fatalism and The Fall with lyrics that you can actually decipher.
Read More Word Of Mouth Has Made Interpol's Turn On The Bright Lights one of the must-have records of the year.
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If you only take one bite of the big apple’s windfall of bands this year, says Kim Porcelli, let it be Interpol
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