Having named their fourth album eponymously, and taken four years over its annagramatical successor (‘The painter’ in translation from the Spanish), is Interpol’s creative well running dry? Certainly, their post-Antics releases have ben divisive, with accusations of their releases becoming increasingly formulaic. Yet I can’t help but feel these criticism are missing the point. These are Interpol albums, and they’re bound to sound like Interpol albums. Would it have been preferable for them to go the Editors route reinventing their sound beyond recognition with increasingly disappointing results? Moreover, the chances are the detractors haven’t really given these albums the time they deserve. Each one has marked an evolution of sound, from the layered yet ultra-crisp sound of ‘Our Love to Admire’ to the brittle, percussion-led ‘Interpol’ with its stark sounds and a meticulous attention to shades of reverb.
If anything, at last in terms of production, ‘El Pintor’ marks a return to ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’, with a sound that’s fuller, denser, and altogether more analogue in feel, with warmer tones and fuzzy edges.
‘All the Rage back Home’ begins sounding like it’s going to be a melancholic crooner, but suddenly explodes into an urgent rush of spindly guitars. There’s a swing to the drumming that has a much looser, more energised feel in comparison to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the previous album and it’s immediately apparent that this is a different shade of Interpol. The nagging, twisting guitar line of ‘My Desire’ may not be a million miles from ‘Safe Without’, but it’s warmer, freer, and as the wall of sound builds – and builds – it does the thing that Interpol do at their very best, namely immerse the the listener entirely and take them to another place.
‘Anywhere’ is their most uptempo song since ‘Mammoth’ and the persistent percussion is reminiscent, and again, it’s an urgent rush of a song that swathes interlooping guitar lines in a sonic haze.
The choppy funk edge that slants through the opening of ‘Same Town, New Story’ evokes Gang of Four and marks a clear departure, as does the melody-led hook. The spiralling guitar is of course perfectly familiar, but I’d challenge anyone to describe this as ‘Interpol by numbers’.
If ‘My Blue Supreme’ sounds a little like ‘Take You On a Cruise,’ Banks’ wandering falsetto is certainly new and bring a different hue to the distinctly Interpol melancholic introspection. ‘There’s someone that I’m dying to be be / But nothing ever comes for free’ he sings, and one can’t help but wonder how much autobiography there is in here. It certainly feels as though Paul and his companions are trying to break the shackles they may have cast for themselves. The chiming ‘Everything is Wrong’ could equally be about something other than a damaged relationship. Still, strife breeds creativity, and a driving bassline underpins the stabbing guitar with a real energy.
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‘Fuck the ancient ways’, Banks sings at the opening of ‘Ancient Ways’ amidst an explosion of drums and a rush of interfused bass and guitar and it’s anger that fuel the track. It’s a clear contrast with the album’s closer, ‘Twice as Hard’ which buries the underlying tension in a guitar line that washes up and down, ebbs and slows but never breaks.
So what’s the verdict? Chances are this will once again prove divisive: some will bemoan that it marks a continued downward trajectory, while others will exult that it’s a return to earlier form. I’m not convinced it’s either, but then, it seems unjust to say Interpol ever truly lost their form: they simply evolved.’El Pintor’ sees the band further that evolution, for while it does definitely hark back to their first two albums, it’s by no means a revisitation and nor is it a tepid attempt to recapture that particular vibe. Why should it be? ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’ was 12 years ago: the band members are older and not in the same place personally or creatively. To expect them to be so would be absurd. ‘El Pintor’ is a strong album, with different production values. And, like its predecessors, it requires – and deserves – a bit of time to bed in.
Interpol Online
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