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Interpol: "Our Love to Admire"
Release Date: July 10, 2007
Capitol Records
www.interpolnyc.com
On the cover of Interpol's latest album, "Our Love to Admire," two lions stand poised to sink their teeth into a gazelle in what appears to be a diorama exhibit in a natural history museum. If this is Interpol's conception of love, it explains a lot.
In the world of Interpol, the sky is always dark with storm clouds brooding on the horizon. It is a world of inclement weather, lonely nights and sensual desires -- "I can't control the part of me that swells up when you move into my airspace." "Our Love to Admire" continues the band's tradition of mellow, melancholic introspection within the urban and moral labyrinths of New York City. On this latest outing, however, the band's sound takes on a more darkly baroque finish, as synthetic keyboard arrangements ease their way into the mix.
On the album's opening track, "Pioneer to the Falls," lead singer Paul Banks sings "Show me the dirt pile / And I will pray that the soul can take" with dirge-like intonations, while singular notes from the keyboard hang isolated against a wall of synthesized chords and despondent guitar loops. This macabre opener sets the stage for things to come.
Later in the album, the single, "The Heinrich Maneuver," a swinging, beat-soaked send-off to an ex-lover, proves to be a worthy follow-up to "Slow Hands," the much-played hit off the album's predecessor, "Antics."
And with "Rest My Chemistry," the band takes it down a notch with a leisurely, jam-like number about remorse, "I've slept two days / I've bathed in nothing but sweat / And I've made hallways scenes for things I regret."
"Our Love" concludes with "Lighthouse," a near-epic track marked by its bizarre fluttering of guitar and the resonating voice of Banks.
What makes Interpol a band worth listening to is its ability to immerse the listener in its dark world. Every song seems to evoke such strong images of placid twilight that it becomes hard to listen to any of the band's albums in the light of day. In this latest album, the group manages to retain this trancelike quality. "Our Love" fuses steady progressions of beats from drummer Sam Fogarino and bassist Carlos Dengler, while Banks croons with a voice like a villain to the hypnotic guitar of Daniel Kessler, leaving Interpol with much to admire.
Daily Egyptian writer Devin Vaughn can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or dvaughn@siude.com.
