Customer Ratings & Reviews

It was shortly after the release of "Turn on the Bright Lights" when I was first introduced to Interpol. As a big and long-time fan of Joy Division and New Order, one of my co-workers recommended I check out Interpol. Taking his advice, I picked up a copy of the "Obstacle 1" single and immediately fell in love. Shortly thereafter I picked up "Turn on the Bright Lights," which contains my all-time favorite Interpol song, "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down." 2004 saw the release of "Antics," which is without a doubt the best album this band released to date. And probably ever will. 2007 saw the release of "Our Love to Admire," which I bought without hesitation. Then I listened to it. Something about the album felt...off. Perhaps the word I'm looking for is "mainstream." Whatever made Interpol such a unique-sounding band was gone, and while "Our Love to Admire" has grown on me, it does not and cannot compare to the band's prior work. Which brings me to the new self-titled album. Yet another album that just doesn't feel...right. It doesn't feel like Interpol, at least not the Interpol I fell in love with back in '03. Perhaps it had something to do with why Carlos D. left after the album was completed. Something that the band's return to Matador Records couldn't even fix, which is a shame and--in my opinion--spells doom for what used to be one of my favorite bands. Now, with all that said, the new album is, if nothing else, solid. In my opinion, the stand-out songs on it are "Summer Well," "Lights," and "Barricade." But these songs aren't enough to overcome the overall mediocre and unispired songwriting that has plagued this band since their last album. Even the musicianship feels subpar compared to the grand scheme of their work, almost as if the band itself is beginning to lose interest in their own work. This leaves me with one question: will there be a next album?

There are some gems on this album, but its different from their earlier work. It doesnt have any of the heavier style tracks like PDA from Turn on the Bright Lights, or Not Even Jail from Antics but it does have the same ominous lingering feeling that persists with time on the track Memory Serves. Lights being one of the main tracks off this album starts off slow with just the haunting reverb laden guitar work they are known for till it speeds up to a nice anthemic driven number but where it lacks is the repetitive lyrics towards the end of the song. All in all its not my favorite album by the now trio even though Carlos Dengler did play bass on this album he is not touring with them anymore. My favorite is Turn on the Bright Lights. Over time they seem to be losing the strength and brilliance they once had but they still keep me interested.

This band refuses to make a bad album and i cant be happier they are a band that is true to their sound and know who they are and they are AMAZING! I remain their biggest fan for all time!