A Tale of Two CDs
By Jim Curtiss

No two ways about it, Interpol is a damn fine Indie band. After releasing three EPs and two full-length CDs, guitarist and singer Daniel Kessler, bassist Carlos D, lead singer and guitarist Paul Banks and drummer Samuel Fogarino have established themselves as major players for Indie-label legend Matador Records. And, courtesy of two world tours that included the Curiosa Festival in 2004 where they opened for the Cure, as well as a stellar June of 2005 that included openings for the White Stripes, U2 and Coldplay, respectively, Interpol have clawed their way to worldwide notoriety.

Their first album, Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) was a palette of expansive and atmospheric guitar, funky bass, militant percussion and cathartic lyrics (penned by Banks) that have been alternately described as deeply poetic and (aptly) nonsensical. No matter though, because Turn on the Bright Lights presented a robust identity that was instantly embraced in a “You’ve gotta listen to this” kinda way. No less than four songs from that CD contain refrains and choruses that, once imbibed, prove stubbornly habit-forming.

Which makes it a pity that the band’s second effort, Antics (2004), while competent and sure to leave fans sated, comes off like the dreaded “sophomore slump”, with hardly any of the mojo carried over from their first album and, paradoxically, little new ground covered, either. Not to say that Antics isn’t worth your time, but with the amount of hype that surrounded the band after Turn on the Bright Lights – deservedly so, in your correspondent’s opinion – it was disappointing to see a “competent” effort out of a band with such promise attached to it.

Indeed, in an effort likely designed to boost sales of the thing, Interpol’s latest offering, released in August 2005, was Antics: The Special Edition, a CD+plus version of the original that includes remixes by each band member as well as the videos for Slow Hands, Evil, and C’mere.

For those who were unsatisfied with Antics (special or otherwise) hope is on the horizon. Since Interpol winds up their world tour in NYC on Oct. 2nd, sooner or later they’re gonna get back in the studio, which hopefully means their next release won’t be
Antics: The Extra Super Special Edition.

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