Review Summary: A breath of fresh air, with sounds that will make anyone feel nostalgic. Interpol's offering for the Major Labes, are a lashback to their older, less commercial sound, with enough crisp to make all the other's stand up and listen.
To make things clear, I am a fan of interpol and have followed them since theri Black EP. I played Turn on the Bright Lights insasiably and Antic took me a bit more to really enjoy. To be honest, I did not hear The Heinrich Manouver before I bought the album so I had a fresh listen. I had read reviews in which Carlos explained the more sophsticated sound and was eager to explore. Our Love to Admire does show some fine muscianship although it is not Interpol at it's finest. After a couple of listens however, this has become a constant repeat on my Ipod. It is Interpol getting back to their earlier stuff. Pioneer to the falls, which opens the album, is nothing short of great. If the solo right after Banks sings "and here comes the fall" doesn't send shiver down your spine then there is something wrong. I think that the use of keyboards was great. It is not featured as a primary intrument, and why should it? After all, neither of the members play it live. They use keyboards perhaps in the same way Pink Floyd did. It is almost not there at times, but if you pay close attention, it adds certain details not there before. Though the album does have some weak tracks as in All Fired Up which I find terribly bland at times, the album does have some fine points. The opener song, as well as Pace is the Trick, No I in Threesome has a great chorus, and of course the last half or Wrecking Ball that is followed by The Lighthouse. All in all, I think this album could've been a lot better. But there is always room to grow, It is definately an album worth listening to, and owning. I also think that it's a nice surrise that Interpol have gone back to their more atmospheric, less "comercial" sound, even though now they are in the big leagues. Compared to all the crap being released in the major labels nowadays, it it a breath of fresh air to still haveb ands that sound original. Becuase if there is one thing that can be said for Interpol, is that they truly are original. Some critics of the album have also been that they work on the same formula. The same guitar sounds and simple chords, but it is this that makes Interpol so ...dare I say, Interpol. Perhaps the guitar are monotonous, but is this pattern that make their songs so alluring, it draws you in. And although the intruments themselves might have simple patters, the interplay between them is not. One just has to pay attention.
