A Largely Forgotten Band that is Great — Interpol
By: Drew Daugherty
Tags: New York City, Interpol, Music, The Strokes, 2000s Music

(Pintrest)

Few bands have the ability to insidiously suck you in like taking a drink of water when you didn’t even realize you were thirsty. Take a small sip and before you know it you’re on your seventh gulp and you’ve guzzled half the bottle. You listen to a bit of one song and have the sneaking suspicion there is something more to explore. You listen to a few more. Soon after, you’re Googling lyrics and looking up old interviews. Few musical acts retain this aura.

Many 90’s kids will remember the early 2000’s music scene quite well. The days when you would come home from school, grab a Capri-sun and mindlessly have TRL on in the background as you calculated the area of a triangle for math homework. Kanye’s early stuff, Lil Jon’s “Get Low”, and “Yeah” by Usher were completely unavoidable, even if pop music wasn’t your bag. Alt rock kids might have been more into Coldplay or the Killers. Take a stroll down the narrow indie music alley, and you’d find emo kids listening to The Strokes or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. However, a band lies lurking below the public’s memory of this time period in music, only truly appreciated by a lucky few. This band is Interpol. Unfortunately many failed to discover their haunting genius. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with shallow pop music, but for those who yearn for something deeper, feel free to swan dive into Interpol’s glorious abyss.

First off, the vocals and lyrics: Paul Banks’ baritone snarl will not immediately enthrall you, but behind his monotone façade, there might as well be a ransom note cut out of a bunch of different magazines. Ph.D. students could write dissertations on their interpretations of these songs. Banks’ was clearly influenced by Kurt Cobain and Black Francis writing songs that can’t be picked apart too easily. His lyrics are laced with clues stretching from obscure novels to serial killers. Some samples from his rap sheet:

“Stella Was a Diver and She was Always Down” — Could be about a prostitute, mental illness, an addict overdosing or Bank’s favorite beer, Stella Artois. There is evidence to all four, however the jury is still out.

“Leif Erikson” — In one of Banks favorite novels from college, the The Illuminatus! Trilogy, a character takes a girl down into a submarine to have sex. The name of the girl: Stella. The name of the submarine: Leif Erikson. Add lines “her rapid glow was like braille to the night”, “my sentimental side should be held with kids gloves” and “I left my urge in the icebox”. Intimacy is the obvious theme, but what this all means exactly is up for interpretation.

“Evil” — Banks was curious about serial killers and this song is inspired by the Rosemary West killings with “shards under the belly” and “grease inside my hand”. It’s written from the perspective of Fred West attempting to commutate with Rosemary’s spirit, from his jail cell (“it took a lifetime with no cellmate”), while awaiting trial and meditating on the ‘evil’ he has done before taking his own life. However, this is all an educated guess pieced together from fan forums.

(Radio X)

Now for the wall of sound behind Banks’ words: Place Daniel Kessler’s guitar melodies and Carlos Dengler’s bass lines in a dryer, put in your quarters and let them tumble and turn. The guitars and bass constantly flip-flop in prominence on most songs, creating a sort of double-helix effect, a staple of Interpol’s sound. Look up the isolated bass tracks to “Obstacle 1” or “PDA” on YouTube to hear Dengler’s genius. Then place all this on top of drumming so steady the Taj Mahal could be built upon it.

Their first album, Turn on the Bright Lights, is a collage of the dark and moody. It sounds like they hired Duran Duran to do the synthesizers, but only after they’d been bitten and turned into a vampires. The Killer’s Brandon Flowers claims he listened to the Turn on the Bright Lights on repeat while they were recording their first album and even the most casual listener can detect Interpol’s synth influence on Hot Fuss. The opener “Untitled” sets the mood like no other. “PDA” might have the most beautiful outro of any song ever. “Obstacle 1” is sharp and lingers in your subconscious. “NYC” speaks to self actualization after disappointment and contains the album’s title, “it’s up to me, now turn on the bright lights”. “Say Hello to the Angels” builds like an approaching freight train only to arrive as a magic carpet woven with intricate guitars. “The New”- throw standard verse-chorus-verse song structure down the garbage disposal.

Their second album, Antics, is more commercial, for lack of a better term. A concertgoer compared the experience of singing the opener “Next Exit” with the crowd, to being in a cult. “Slow hands” is a marauding track with a chugging bass line. Poppy rockers “Public Pervert” and “C’mere” are a delight. “Not Even Jail” provides another stunning outro. “Narc” alludes to deception in a relationship, “its just, you, me, and this wire”. After the release of Antics, in 2004, they separated themselves from The Strokes’ shadow, appeared at prominent European music festivals and toured with The Cure.

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Their stage presence was nothing to scoff at. They often dressed in tailored suits, were clean-shaven, wore primarily black and perfected the balance of confidence yet aloof. Dengler would often wear an empty gun hostler, which he deemed stylish. Search “Interpol Live Eurokennes” on YouTube to witness them at the height of their powers.

Dengler left the band after their fourth album and their music became more experimental, leaving only true fans to enjoy their art as their commercial success dwindled. Meet Me in the Bathroom, by Lizzy Goodman offers an epic oral history of their rise in the New York City music scene, but as time passes, Interpol’s legend remains tucked away only to be found by those willing to search through musical history or are given the odd Spotify recommendation. They are one of the last bands to hold an element of mystery in their art. Amazing how something so unique and decadent can be easily forgotten.