Turn on the Bright Lights

Interpol was created in New York City in 1998. The original line-up of the band was Greg on drums, Daniel on guitar, Paul on vox and guitar, and Carlos on bass.

Between ‘98 and 2000, the four lads forged a unique sound in a variety of the city’s decrepit and shady rental rehearsal rooms. Throughout 2000 and 2001 they opened for bands like …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Arab Strap, and The Delgados.

Then came Interpol’s first release, at the end of 2000, in the form of the third installment of the FukdID EP series on Scottish label Chemikal Underground. Around the same time, the band also contributed an unreleased track, Song Seven, to the Fierce Panda Records compilation Clooney Tunes.

In April 2001 Interpol played in Glasgow, Manchester, and London, capping off their visit with a session for the famed John Peel. In November of 2001, the band tucked themselves away in Connecticut at Tarquin Studios to record their debut full-length.

The album was recorded and mixed by Peter Katis (Mercury Rev, Clem Snide) and Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Clinic.). Each of the songs on this album emit various shades of gray, built on durable arrangements, a veteran band’s sense of economy and dynamics, and a streak of gloom that never quite reaches overbearing doom.

At some point early on, someone decided to start comparing this New York trio to Joy Division, which makes sense given the mannered, precise fashion in which the group builds tension and (sometimes) releases it, and for the fact that Paul Bank’s voice occasionally approaches the depths of Ian Curtis’ thick baritone. This is a horribly nearsighted way of viewing the band; a Joy Division comparison is only one of many that can be drawn, and they are all tenuous at best. To those looking beneath the surface, Interpol becomes a band of its own and Turn On The Bright Lights an album to cherish.