Interpol - LP6 "Marauder" August 24, 2018

I have all their albums and I love every one of them. I saw them with Carlos for Our Love To Admire then twice on the Interpol tour. I missed the El Pintor tour so I’m excited to see them again. I am concerned about the sound of the new album though. I streamed The Rover on Apple Music and I thought it sounded really muddy. It’s a shame because I like the song.

 

I love their early work, but have lost track since Our Love To Admire's release. Hope this is a good album.

 

Just bought my ticket for Montreal.

 

Me too!! I like all their albums to varying degrees, but honestly -- I think El Pinto is their BEST album since their debut (and I was even surprised at that).

I've heard the band live 3 times, the first time ~5 months after their debut came out. That first time was one of the tightest and most energetic and mesmerizing non-jazz performances I think I've ever heard, in my 30+ years of going to concerts (I'll be 50 next year).

Looking forward to this one!

 

I've only seen them live once but "tight" is really the way to describe them.

 

Got my ticket for Detroit!

 

Our Love To Admire is one of the greatest LP's of the past 20 years from any band, so to dismiss all that came after Antics is ridiculous.

 

That’s a bold claim. It’s certainly not one commonly held. Out of curiosity, what else is on your list of Greatest LP’s of the Past 20 Years?

 

I just played El Pintor again the other day and it really is a good album. The only real off album for me was the self titled and even that one was okay. Glad they're still making music!

 

Yeah, I'm the same way. The self-titled one hasn't quite clicked with me anywhere near as much practically all the rest. And then after that (meaning after the s/t one), I never dreamed I'd love El Pintor so damn much.

Heck, I'll go one further and say that I think El Pintor recaptures the haunting feeling of the original (debut) more than anything since way back then.

 

El Pintor and especially Interpol didn’t instantly stun me like the first three albums did but now I think they’re both absolutely amazing records.

Check out the video for All The Rage Back Home if you haven’t seen it before. Some really cool cinematic shots of the band performing.

 

Glasgow - July 1, 2018

 

Good, lengthy interview with the band from the UK's Independent newspaper:

Interpol explore the inner Marauder on their upcoming album – interview

 

Interpol seems like a band with a 'sound' that I don't know how it ever evolves... ...or ever COULD evolve. I've often thought that specifically about Interpol (but rarely about any other band).

Maybe it's because they arrived so fully-formed? Their first album was one of THE strongest musical debut albums by any band in my entire lifetime (and I'll be 50 next year). Maybe it's because a friend of mine hipped me to their debut the month it came out? - so I was won over pretty early. Bear in mind, though, I *don't* think(?) I say all that as someone who holds Interpol up as the ultimate pinnacle of bands. They're a great band, and often a really great band -- but no better than 20 other bands I could name. And yet, in my mind's eye (or make that my mind's ear), I can't for the life of me figure out how to "evolve" their sound in any way that doesn't take them away from what makes them as good as they are.

It's a silly thing to think, I realize. I suppose I could have said the same thing about The Cure in 1989 (or 1987, or 1985 even) -- but clearly they've "evolved" a lot over the years (or, rather, Robert Smith has definitely tried new things).

I'm really not sure why I think this specifically about Interpol, almost to the exclusion of any other band. I don't mean to put them in a box -- and yet, that's kind of what I've done. Perhaps it's because they didn't "evolve" into a great band -- they just "appeared" that way, fully formed it would seem. Maybe it's because I heard them live barely 5 months after their debut first came out -- and it was one of THE tightest concerts I think I've ever heard (mesmerizingly so, in fact)**. They were still good the next 3 times I saw them over the ten years after that -- but never quite as good as that very first time (which hit me upside the head like a ton of bricks).

I've never thought of their writing as 'brilliant' or anything. I'm way more a "music" guy than a "lyrics" guy -- so the impenetrable nature of their lyrics doesn't phase me one bit. Everything is methodically planned out (it sounds like), like the whole thing was scored in advance. They sound like a band that played that material into the ground perfecting it -- and normally that wrings out every last bit of life in a band's music. Not here, though.

It's all the damnedest thing, and deeply puzzling -- and I don't think I'll ever figure it out.

**I've said it before, but that first time I saw them -- they played EVERY single song EXACTLY like it was on the album -- to the letter. And normally that bores the ever-living-daylights out of me. And yes, somehow(?) - they TOTALLY blew me away that very first night. I'm a jazz guy at heart. I normally HATE concerts with that kind of predictability. But I came home that night, and I was in a complete daze, they were so good. Talked about it for 2-3 days, until my wife got tired of hearing about it.

 

After reading the positive comments regarding El Pintor in this thread, I've ordered myself a copy as well as the B-sides which are available on various digital platforms as a 3-track release.

Really looking forward to giving this a spin.

 

Interesting post. Saw them as early as you and from then on... I don't know.... 5, 6 times? And I don't even live in Manhattan Live, they were always great.

Pre-ordered "Marauder" last week. Followed them since the debut so I guess it's too late to get out now. And reviews ain't going to get you nowhere with Interpol. Especially the by now obligatory Pitchfork put down. Let's see.... or rather hear.

 

Be sure to report back here what you think of it El Pintor (I was one of those positive commenters). And I wasn't aware of any b-sides for the album (never thought to look for any, but I suppose I should). If you think any of the b-sides in particular are real stand-outs, let me know that too. Thanks!!

 

Bonus tracks sounding pretty good on first listen. Check out samples here;

El Pintor Bonus Tracks (2018) | Interpol | MP3 Downloads | 7digital United States

 

So far, only a had time for a couple of listens to El Pintor, but I like what I'm hearing so far.

Interestingly, i've also taken the opportunity to "rediscover" the preceeding "Interpol" album and am finding it to be wonderful. I gather there's not a lot of love for this one, but there are some really strong songs, particularly the first half of the album.

 

Whatever people say about it, it contains my -probably - favourite Interpol track, the majestic "Lights"

 

That one just never clicked for me. Never thought it was a bad album just a bit forgettable. When I saw them tour for El Pintor that’s the only one they didn’t play any songs from.

 

Agree that the self-titled Interpol album starts off really strong. In my opinion, it tails off some on the second half. I also agree “Lights” is one of Interpols best.

 

Any opinions on the remastered/anniversary edition of Turn On The Bright Lights?

Does the remastering offer any improvement on the original?

 

I really like it, a very nice book style vinyl/ cd set. The remaster.. well. . it's definitely not night and day and I certainly wouldn't pay inflated prices. But for the original asking price - 28€?! - it was a no brainer!

 

The first two albums are brooding classics.. the other 3 have their moments but are not at that level.

I do love ‘Lights’ from their fourth album and ‘Pace is the trick’ from the third.