Interpol 'Antics' album

New York. 1998: Interpol forms. After various modifications, the final line-up takes shape: Paul Banks on vox and guitar, Daniel Kessler on guitar, Carlos D. on bass and Sam Fogarino on drums.

2002: Release of the band’s first album, TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS, enthusiastically greeted by press and public alike. The band tours worldwide, dropping their bittersweet notes here and there. Along the way, they bump into Jay Leno and David Letterman in the United States and appear on TV, then cross paths with John Peel in the U.K. and Bernard Lenoir in France, even finding time to release several EPs. Excerpts from TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS are heard on various cult TV series, such as Friends, Six Feet Under and The O.C. The figures are impressive: to this day, Interpol has sold over 400,000 copies of its initial album – a sign of things to come, a certainty that crystallizes into reality.

2004: The years go by and Interpol is still standing strong. Guitars come out of the shadows and rock is once again the flavor of the month. Revisited, made over, rock sings about daily life and sentimental wanderings, is a trendy dresser and infiltrates areas where its voice was never before heard. As with all “New Wave” movements, many are those who jump on the bandwagon – aficionados of a nostalgia that is at times inappropriate.

As for Interpol, they could care less about all of the media flap. The band’s distinguished and ambitious tunes don’t need the explosive flash of photographers’ bulbs to expose their dark beauty. Interpol’s creations are enduring and deserve more than the fifteen minutes of fame Andy Warhol once predicted for everybody. The band writes and composes its songs removed from the calculations of reality, works emotions to the bone, and alternates between initiatory channels and enlightening revelations, traveling to the heart of the megalopolis via secret paths.

Clad in suits from another era, the band’s personal style enhances their cohesion and unity. Interpol’s outfits closely mirror their playing, a combination of sobriety and elegance, both classy and exacting. Their look does not conceal any flaws, and simply highlights their distance from the fray.

Back to 2004: ANTICS – the band’s second studio album, featuring ten titles – confirms that Interpol is not simply a flash in the pan. Au contraire. The heat has been turned up a notch and the band is searing hot. ANTICS opens with a quasi-religious intro, replete with solemn keyboards that induce contemplation, taking listeners by the hand the better to uplift them. The album is a serious and promising work. Chokingly beautiful, its first piece, “Next Exit”, is the gift of angel – fallen perhaps. Carried by sad and majestic instruments, the vocals meander through the corridors of doubt in a hauntingly striking manner. Chokingly beautiful so hold back your tears. Next comes “Evil”, a deeply dark hit, brought to life by a post-punk bass, a heady refrain, a metronomic guitar and heavy rhythmics – an intelligent, startling and irreproachable piece. Yet above all reassuring. Disregarding the easy “gimmicks-and-slogans” approach, Interpol favors an intimate style that is as far from clichéd. The band has heart. Let us rejoice in that.

The music created by these four New Yorkers evokes, above all, images – the stamp of great bands. Interpol’s cinematographic approach to music holds the promise of inner meanderings. Fans of both Jean Pierre Melville and Hal Hartley, Interpol has always been acutely aware of the importance of free interpretation. As such, their music speaks to all. It can be used to heal wounds or re-open old ones, and to freeze eternity for a fleeting moment. Simply close your eyes, let the album unfold and select which song to use as the soundtrack to your own existence.

Interpol combines several musical references – never to “sound like” these pieces, opting instead to build new worlds and using the references as building blocks. Interpol knows its music – that’s a fact – and always remembers those who came before them. Yet paying homage to the greats is not the band’s thing. They clearly aim to defend their own and unique VISION. For Interpol – visibly and undeniably –has vision. The will to “be” precedes the will to “have”. The will to feel before voicing feelings. To narrate these feelings before laying down their weapons. Interpol aspires to write songs that subtly interface with other people’s lives, thus embracing History.

Recorded and mixed in Connecticut with Peter Katis – also involved in the band’s first album – ANTICS is a transitionary album, a difficult step for any band. Far more than a rock or pop album, ANTICS stands out as a major achievement, an album that dares to be truthful, generous and serious. Nothing is hidden and millions of new doors are opened – onto millions of secrets... Listen to Interpol and decide for yourself!

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Tracklisting

Interpol - Antics