Turn On The Bright Lights
- Interpol
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100For such a dark and brooding record, Turn on the Bright Lights is also unexpectedly thrilling, coasting on jagged minor-chord guitar melodies and huge emotional swells with a ton of high points along the way.
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95Loss, regret, and a minor key brilliantly permeate jangling guitars and rhythmic and tonal shifts-- and although it's no Closer or OK Computer, it's not unthinkable that this band might aspire to such heights.
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Interpol mix the propulsive sonic backgrounds and emotional swells of early-'80s post-punk with unexpected bursts of melody and their own brand of wit to create one of themost exciting new sounds of the year. [23 Aug 2002, p.142]
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This record is no fun at all, the tension is rarely resolved, and -- oh no! -- it isn't exactly revolutionary, though some new shades of gray have been discovered. But you shouldn't allow your perception to be fogged by such considerations when someone has just done it for you and, most importantly, when all this brilliance is waiting to overwhelm you.
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90Plainly stated, Turn on the Bright Lights is the album modern followers of post-punk have been waiting for.
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Their robe is cut from cloth that matters: melodic Peter Hook-like basslines; the divine shoegazer textures of My Bloody Valentine and Ride; a peppy, Strokes-like bounce; and a singer who's a dead ringer for Ian Curtis.
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80As a debut full-length, the group is definitely doing some excellent stuff, but like any band that gets swept up by the hype machine, you may be disappointed if you expect too much.
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Interpol temper this album with real atmospheric sadness: the guitar sunspots that flare through 'Untitled'; the echo and ache of 'Leif Erikson'; the way the magnificent 'NYC' brings on the dancing horses for a slow sad waltz through the city's sickness; the snap-shut metal box clang of 'Obstacle 1'.
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80Employing layered guitars, probing bass lines, and the occasional synthesizer swoon, Interpol creates an homage to their particular vision of the '80s that stands proudly alongside the best of its idols.
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80Don't be fooled by the constant references to other bands. While the foundation upon which Interpol is building, certainly is borrowed, its music is not a miming act.
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It sounds like the Ramones covering OK Computer. It's also one of the best debuts of the year.
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80Buy Turn On the Bright Lights. It's great. You'll enjoy it. But don't mistake the next best thing for the Next Big Thing. Interpol still have a lot of proving to do.
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Interpol's virtue lies in the way its music unfurls from pinched openings to wide-open codas.
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If I like them because they remind me of eating bad bathtub mescaline in the woods and listening to Cure singles, well, that'll do. You might like them for completely different reasons.
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70There's exhilaration amid the despondency, as powerful songs and a light, shoegazey sheen means they frequently soar. [Sep 2002, p.111]
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When it works, like on “NYC” or “Roland” it’s a dizzying and beautiful thing that leaves you starving for more. And even when it doesn’t work, it doesn’t fail – it’s just that at times the band seems unable to live up to their own standards and expectations.
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70There's also a heady melodicism that suggests the theatrical firepower of Roxy Music, a droning tonality where big ambiance sets up.
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60Interpol prove themselves to be men on a mission to take us back to a time when long faces and even longer overcoats were de rigeur for alpha males the musical world over.
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60Bright Lights isn't a trudging soundtrack to depression; it's laced with upbeat, albeit bittersweet, songwriting. [#9, p.148]
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60Predictably claustrophobic listening.... When they come up for air, Interpol have the tunes to match all the mannered gloom. [Sep 2002, p.107]
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Interpol's sleek, melancholy sound is a thing of glacial beauty.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 123 out of 126
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Mixed: 1 out of 126
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Negative: 2 out of 126
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