A Lot To Admire

Number 3

'Our Love To Admire' by Interpol

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 1 in 2007

UK Chart high : 2 in 2007

So having already twice waxed lyrical about Interpol (and once in this top ten) you'd think I wouldn't have much more to say about this band.  Luckily I could go on and on about these stylish miserablists from NYC...and often do.  It's Interpol's third album that gets the better of their preceding releases in this countdown and a choice that I have to admit I'm surprised hadn't been reflected in other end of decade polls which seemed to pick their debut over the others.  While the debut is fantastic, it's this collection of songs that really marks Interpol out as one of the best bands of the century in my eyes.  Here they took their signature sound and played with it, expanding their reach, adding more drama and energy and coming up with even more arch, depraved lyrics than they'd ever done before.  '...Admire' seemed to purposely reflect the stadium-filling sound they were aiming for (and beginning to get a taste of when supporting Coldplay and other unlikely headliners throughout the world) with a confident swagger that was unapologetic in its ambition.  For once, chart positions also reflected quality and critical reception too - getting to the lofty heights of Number Two over here and Top Ten in the Billboard countdown.  Not that positions on a chart actually mean much, but it's nice sometimes for good bands to get the recognition and adortion they deserve once in a while.  So what is this record made of then?  For starters we have 'Pioneer to the Falls' which takes its cue from its title and comes over all cinematic and epic, chiming guitars evoking widescreen desert landscapes and untapped opportunity.  Next, simply the best thing this band have ever done 'No I in Threesome', which far from being a self-parody of a menage-a-trois (which given their debauched rep they could have easily done) is actually the exact opposite, a tender, piano-led song full of regret over losing what made a relationship special in the first place opening with 'there are days in this life/when you see the teethmarks of time/two lovers divine' (with an amazing, intricate video to match which ties back to the cover art in a really clever way).  The pace actually picks up in the mid-section with the insistent 'Heinrich Maneuver' (and another spellbinding captivating - and incredibly dark - video) and the pounding 'Mammoth' and then gives way to the ultimate comedown track 'Rest My Chemistry' where Paul Bank's lyrics really come into their own and conjure up the scene perfectly 'haven't slept for two days/I've bathed in nothing but sweat/and I've made hallways scenes for things to regret'.  Closing the album 'Wrecking Ball' and 'The Lighthouse' again evoke worlds of their own, full of brooding atmospherics but with a warmth that sets them apart from previous work.  Everything works so well here, not just the quality of the songs themselves, but how they sit alongside each other; making the album an easy listen - even if as far from easy listening as you can get.

Look at No I in Threesome ; Heinrich Maneuver ; Rest My Chemistry ; Mammoth
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version