Interpol
‘Interpol’
(CO-OP)

An Interpol record that isn’t tinged with sadness quite frankly isn’t an Interpol record. But, as well as conjuring up the usual brooding melancholy in their latest material, the NYC outfit’s fourth offering arrives bearing the additionally gloomy news that it’s probably the last time we’ll hear bassist Carlos D. play with the band. It’s tough bidding this iconic, imposing character adieu, but you’ve got to wonder why he walked – ‘Interpol’ is easily the band’s most complex and impressive work since debut ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’. Much like their previous records, of course, it needs a few listens to really sink in, but once it does, a new found grandeur and fresh creativity is revealed. From foreboding riffs, pounding rhythms and prowling basslines that build, shape shift and build again and again into thundering indie rock epics to fluttering, discordant pianos that jar and soothe simultaneously, chirruping electronic interludes, intricate drum patterns and supremely heavy, verging on the Wagnerian sonic soundscapes; there is much to explore here. The poppier efforts like ‘Barricade’ and ‘Summer Well’ provide occasional chinks of light throughout, but it’s the more indepth, mind-melting tracks on ‘Interpol’, of which there are many, that you will find yourself delving into again and again.

Camilla Pia