Post-punk / Post-rock fans, do yourselves a favour... - by Scots Taffer
trevor the sheep on 6/7/2007 at 16:16
The first record was a corker, i'm a sucker for that kind of reverb-drenched city-at-night claustrophobia. Didn't ever really get into the 2nd lp, bar 'not even jail' which is fantastic live. Not overly impressed with 'pioneer to the falls' either - a wee bit plodding and not much substance to the track overall. Still a lot better than any other indie guitar thing i've heard recently though. I do think Scots is on to something with the post-rock comparisons in the new one though-elements of GYBE drama do creep in to some parts.
(also the artwork on the new record is hilarious)
Fingernail on 6/7/2007 at 16:21
I just read a review in the Guardian of this album actually (it got 3 stars, said it was alright but predicted it to be big for the band anyway, thanks to people buying it in supermarkets).
However, it quite amusingly likened the vocalist of Editors' voice to Barry Scott of Cillit Bang fame in his attempts to imitate Ian Curtis. Better than the fucking megaphone whine of Brandon Flowers though.
Vivian on 6/7/2007 at 17:15
Interesting. So the bass player is a massive jerk instead of the drummer. That's original, I guess.
oudeis on 6/7/2007 at 18:15
I thought it was supposed to be the lead singer who was the dick.
Stitch on 6/7/2007 at 19:21
:cool:
D'Juhn Keep on 7/7/2007 at 02:38
After the very very good first 4 songs on Turn On The Bright Lights I find it easy to lose track of the fact the rest of the album isn't actually that good. Antics is like that only without the good songs :(
In summary then, not exactly filled with optimism for their latest album but it could surprise me.
Scots Taffer on 7/7/2007 at 07:15
I knew you'd repost that! Anyway, that article is pretty funny - especially where it says his contribution to the band is minimal, the basslines are a pretty big part of how the music hangs together in the first two albums. He was also recently nominated second best bassist by the rabid-fist-pumpers over at Rolling Stone.
Anyway, my hard-on for this new album is so immense that I'd gladly accept herpes from Carlos D just to relieve my tension.
Stitch on 13/7/2007 at 16:40
My opinion of Interpol tends to align itself pretty closely with Iggle's, but I will say that the experience of having the new album's opening track wash over me as I flipped through the liner artwork was alone worth the price of admission.
Scots Taffer on 13/7/2007 at 23:35
Well, both Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics were growers for me, I loved the first four or five tracks on TOTBL and found the second half to be a bit lackluster, however over time I came to love the second half just as much, and with Antics, the immediacy of the Interol sound was enough to hook me but I didn't really love the whole album for a long time (and I still have reservations about it's thematic content and overall delivery verging on too slick).
This album is the first that's had an instant-love effect with me (what that means for the longevity of the album, who knows), there's not really a single dud on this album that I can hear - although after a few more listens I will say that it appears to be a transitional album although the mood is definitely consistent across most of the tracks. They're kind of shrugging off some of the post-punk and aspiring towards a more textured and post-rock sound (tracks like Pioneer, Wrecking Ball and Lighthouse - jesus fuck, that song rocks - could have come from some post apocalyptic movie soundtrack) whereas some of their tracks still have their roots embedded deep (Heinrich, Mammoth and Who Do You Think) but sadly lacking a little in the bass department (Carlos D has moved his focus onto strings, providing some of the depth to several tracks).
Part of every album's design is now undoubtedly going to be influenced by production, big labels and heavy expectations weighing on any band, this is true for many - Muse's recent album is a clear example of overproduction and stretching a few ideas in too many different directions (ironically, same producer as Our Love to Admire). There are only a handful of tracks now that I can return to on Black Holes.
