Interpol

"Achingly beautiful…explores emotional blues but never, ever plays the blues." -- Vanity Fair

Interpol. A name generally associated with international espionage, covert operations, and distant ports of call. Yet since Interpol, the band, swept up listeners with their 2002 Matador debut 'Turn On The Bright Lights,' the moniker has gained new associations as well. It still carries global recognition. For the past two years, one could hardly open a magazine, turn on a radio or television, or step into a nightclub, without hearing Interpol's dark, gripping songs or seeing their countenances. Despite this high level of media exposure, the quartet never lost the tension and complexity that won them acclaim worldwide.

So it remains on 'Antics.' But what has changed, markedly, is the breadth of sounds, emotion, and characters at play in their music. Contrast the disc's stately opener, "Next Exit," with its swells of percussion and piano, and abrupt brush strokes of whammy bar, to the final track, "A Time To Be So Small," which pulls the listener in like a camera honing in on a great actor in the climactic scene of a classic film, the music building into a swirling vortex that suddenly dissolves into a quiet eddy… and good night.

After two years of seemingly endless tours, the quartet returned in early 2004 to Peter Katis’s Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Conn., to record their second album. "On the road, Sam and I would constantly try to outdo each other," says bassist Carlos D. of his interaction, night after night, with drummer Sam Fogarino. "But we still had to 'obey' the old songs. We knew, with the new songs, we could push everything up a notch." Singer Paul Banks concurs: "We learned how far our songs could go, and shot for a higher degree in our songwriting."

They succeeded. "Public Pervert" pushes Interpol's use of dynamics to new extremes, starting with a low, isolated guitar riff, adding a sheen of keyboards in the background, eventually bursting into an explosive chorus, then suddenly dropping back to nearly nothing save a tambourine before ascending the next crest.

Often, say the band members, it was guitarist Daniel Kessler who would come up with an initial chord progression, or a mood he wanted to capture musically, for a new song. "And then Sam and Carlos would turn it into something else completely," admits Paul.

The wider playing field of 'Antics' is especially evident in the diverse ways Paul deploys his voice. "My vocals are higher, more melodic, less monotonous," he observes. His lyrics, though still elliptical, are more upbeat, too. This time, the songs are more expressive and less hopeless. I want the compelling aspect to be the melody, not the drama of the delivery."

Despite the high level of media exposure, the quartet never lost the tension and complexity that won them acclaim worldwide. Three years after their critically acclaimed album Antics, the American indie rock band just released their much anticipated new album Our Love To Admire on July 10th.

Interpol will bring their onstage antics to Osheaga on Sunday September 9th 2007!

www.interpolnyc.com