It was four years ago I talked about New York’s Interpol. It was a band I always wanted to revisit, because their first two albums were just incredible, having mentioned one track off the first album, “Turn on the Bright Lights,” I knew eventually I would have to talk about their second album, “Antics.”
It was a sweet moment in my life when I saw Interpol – Evil on Much Music. At that point in my life I had pretty much given up any hope of ever seeing a good music video again, but here was this puppet in a car crash wincing and irking as it sang the lyrics to the song. Nothing special really, but I really enjoyed seeing the range of emotion they could muster from slightly twisting a puppet’s face, and even more so I enjoyed the song.
I felt really cool when I bought the album “Antics,” they were playing it at the music store (not HMV, it was something else in TD square that went out of business), and I said “Hey it’s Interpol.”
The guy at the till replied “yeah, their new album is amazing.”
I believe I said, “Alright, let’s dance,” and proceeded to buy the album on display. I guess I could have grabbed a copy from the shelf, but social grace is a mystery to me.
It was one of those impulse buys that works out so well you brag about it, as if your courage to buy an album you knew very little about made it all the better. That’s what “Antics” was for me, one of many successful impulse buys, and if you hung out with me in 2007 you probably heard me talking about Interpol.
“Antics” is one of the best albums of the last ten years, if you haven’t listened to it yet you have done yourself a disfavour.
Like all great albums I struggle picking out a single song, something of a reoccurring theme here at Music in Review. “Evil” seems like an obvious choice because it was the song that lured me in, but I feel “Evil” is my second favourite on the album. Interpol does a really good job with their rhythm and lead guitar, the rhythm uses simple rifts that become comfortably repetitive while the song grows around the lead guitar, which also uses simple cords to pull you in and ready you for sharp change in the tempo, and the best example of this is “Not Even Jail.”
Like all Interpol songs the lyrics are deep and profound and even a little confusing, which is a good thing it creates this wonderful sense of mystery to the true story being told to us. I have my own interpretation of “Not Even Jail,” but my insights could serve no better than your own, travel this song on your own and let me know what you think.
I do wonder what people would take away from “Not Even Jail,” the opening cord is almost jarring, the first building block in a masterpiece, but enough to shock away any pop music puppet. Despite the simplicity in the majority of their songwriter Interpol’s music is somehow unfriendly to those who do not let the songs pull them in, so I suggest to you, let yourself get pulled into “Not Even Jail.”
Until later this month, keep on rocking in the free world.
- Coin Kelly
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