A rock band hailing from New York (which only made me love them more), Interpol released their debut album, Turn on the Bright Lights in 2002 to almost universal praise. Their second album Antics, my personal favorite, was released two years later to reviews almost as shining as those received for their first. But instead of reviewing one of their first two most popular releases, I instead wanted to review their third record: Our Love to Admire, released in 2007.
Before purchasing Our Love to Admire, I was fairly skeptical. Having so thoroughly enjoyed their first two albums I didn't want to be disappointed. But I loved TOTBL and Antics far too much to discourage myself from listening to any of their following releases. After a few listens I found that there were parts of the album that I was disappointed with but also many parts that I truly enjoyed.
Beginning with Pioneer to the Falls, Daniel Kessler plays a slow and dissonant guitar melody which remains throughout most of the song before giving way to a beautiful guitar solo break. During this solo Daniel uses an octave guitar pedal to raise his already high pitched, and fast strummed solo another octave, which gave the impression that his guitar was screaming. It's easily my favorite part of the song, but this change in the melody doesn't last and instead of a smooth resolve, we are once again left with the beginning note melody that doesn't offer much more to the listener than it did at first, even with the addition of a string section behind it. Though it isn't a bad song, I quickly got bored of the main guitar and vocal melodies and found myself wanting to get to the second track a while before the song actually ended. The band could have trimmed the track down a good minute and a half before it eventually wore itself out.
I did really enjoy the following track, No I In Threesome, which remains consistently energetic and instrumentally beautiful. Be it from the simple piano accompaniment, Sam Fogarino's tight drumming, Daniel's clean and echoed guitar setting, or Carlos Dengler's consistently brilliant bass playing, every part of the band is moving at the same speed which makes it a great listen even after hearing it many times. But this energy isn't retained and soon dissipates after repeated rises and falls throughout the rest of the album.
I do believe that an album should be dynamic and have sections of varying intensities, but there just didn't seem to be much of a flow on Our Love to Admire. The record lacked a solid arc and in general the songs felt poorly arranged in their chosen track listing. I was most disappointed in the final track, The Lighthouse. The song, consisting mostly of just one guitar layer accompanied by Paul Bank's almost inaudible lyrics, just doesn't do justice to the great songs that were still present on the album and provides an anticlimactic end to an album that sorely needed a great conclusion.
Despite these points, Our Love to Admire is not a bad album. There are still a handful of songs that I couldn't get enough of. Heinrich Maneuver incorporates the rhythmic precision and melodic complexity that is also present on Antics. This was the first song I had ever heard by the band years ago when I was a kid in middle school, so hearing it again on its own album was a huge treat for me. This, as well as Who Do You Think, are probably the album's catchiest tunes, both being short, fast paced and almost impossible to get out of your head once they're there.
One of my two favorite tracks on the album, All Fired Up, incorporates some of the best guitar playing I've heard Paul and Daniel ever record. Each of them playing different parts on different beats really made the song come alive with an intensity I hadn't heard since PDA on their debut record. The final minute includes both guitars engaging in call and response solos that bounce off of each other with rising momentum until the song abruptly ends as the solos reach their highest pitch.
My other favorite track is Rest My Chemistry. Slower than All Fired Up, the song delivers the beautiful instrumentation that made me fall in love with the band in the first place. The fading in piano melody backed by string orchestration gives the song a mythical atmosphere and at many points I felt as if I was in space. Paul's lyrics are almost as haunting as the melodies themselves, with lines like "I've bathed in nothing but sweat, and I've made hallway scenes for things to regret" I couldn't help but relate to the contemplative and sad nature inherent in the song.
All in all, Our Love to Admire is a decent album. Interpol definitely showed growth in their methods of songwriting, but were not able to focus their efforts enough to discourage my opinion that they forced the songs out without arranging them in a more flowing manner.
I give Our Love to Admire 3 out of 5 stars.
All songs and albums mentioned have been linked to YouTube (for songs) and Amazon (for albums) for either listening or purchasing.
