Interpol
Antics

THE REVIEW

It is not the ultimate mix, it is in mono and consists of bootleg recordings, but there it is: this is the new Interpol album.

Antics had a long period of gestation, experimented live and multiple times in the studio, highlighting that the artistic flair of the New York group did not end with just Turn On The Bright Lights and distances them from the well-known accusations of Joy Division plagiarism. The Dark obviously remains, being a peculiar trait of the band, but to these atmospheres are added nostalgia, regrets, anger, doubts, and contradictions. In the arrangement of the tracks, the heavy use of keyboard layers, a distinctly funky bass, and a more lead guitar compared to the previous work is immediately evident, with the drums, as usual, continuously varying to create compelling rhythms.

Next Exit opens the album with a reverberating organ, then the song engages in the initial tranquility, paving the way for Evil, a traditional post-punk burst enhanced by an excellent chorus. Following is Narc, the best made-in-Interpol track ever written: guitar riffs, agile bass, a chorus where the song opens up, a Police-style ending. Take You On A Cruise is the first ballad of the album, poignant and moving like few others, strongly contrasting with the first single released, Slow Hands, a dance rock track that will drive indie clubs crazy: a four-on-the-floor beat and an easy chorus that gets immediately catchy. It's time for Not Even Jail, dragging and sweet, magnificent with its simple but engaging guitar arpeggio. Public Pervert, a hallucinatory song with violent changes in melody and atmospheres, takes us to the final triptych composed of C'mere, Length Of Love, and A Time To Be So Small. All old tracks, the latter even deriving from an EP preceding Turn On The Bright Lights, all well-known by fans who were able to follow Interpol in the last phase of their tour. C'mere is one of the most carefree tracks but hides a love disappointment, while Length Of Love could be one of the most classic post-punk songs inspired by Joy Division with its obsessive guitar interlude and very dark baritone singing. The album closes with A Time To Be So Small, the last ballad, nostalgic and emotional.

Antics is a very ambitious, complicated and difficult work to grasp in a few listens, these are precisely the peculiarities that make it a profoundly different album from the previous one. Interpol, while remaining faithful to their musical origins and their characteristics, have reinvented themselves by conceiving an excellent album, much more innovative than the previous one and profoundly different in content.
The great comeback we were all waiting for.