Doing Someone Else’s Thing
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
There have been a lot of contenders in the 25 years since Joy Division’s singer Ian Curtis hanged himself, but Interpol is quite simply the best Joy Division rip-off ever to come down the pike. They have the same droning vocals, the same emotionally detached lyricism, and an eerily similar sense of atmosphere.
Yet when Interpol put out their first record, “Turn On the Bright Lights,”
two years ago, it sounded positively fresh. If not new, it was different than their contemporaries, and to be fair, their song structures are far more complex than Joy Division’s. It didn’t hurt that the band had style to burn, with their asymmetrical haircuts and vintage black suits that reeked NYC cool.
The reverb-heavy, atmospheric sound that was almost as important as the actual songs on the first album shackles them on their second album, “Antics,” which is out today. On a bouncy track ironically named “Evil,” they try to break free with major chords – and almost succeed before their usual listless approach overwhelms the song. Elsewhere, they pepper tracks like “Narc,” and the first single, “Slow Hand,” with disco-thump bass lines. This adds some upbeat variety to the record, but more than a few listeners will hear echoes of Franz Ferdinand, whose acclaimed debut earlier this year traveled similar territory but sounded less derivative.
Still, this album has much to recommend it. The breakdown in the last minute of “Take You on a Cruise” is one of the most sublime musical moments of the year. A pulsing kick drum gives way to a guitar held on a single note. The bass starts rumbling, the background vocals enter in the round, and each layered part weaves around the others. It’s even tempting to sing along to the band’s ridiculously oblique lyrics: “Black goddess, red goddess / White temptress of the sea / You treat me right.”
No one will ever accuse Interpol of having their own ideas, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve their success. For the most part, they are quite good at what they do, and while you’re waiting around for the next truly original rock band, it’s hard to imagine doing much better than “Antics.”
