Our Love To Admire

There was a definite fear with Interpol's move from indie Matador to major Capitol and Carlos D's look drifiting from vague fascist of a Joy Division disposition to the look of The Killers that Interpol would turn into one of those bands of a U2/Coldplay disposition. It could be done - remember how great Simple Minds were before the bombast set in, or how bad the Bunnymen were when they tried to do that stuff? Our Love to Admire isn't that vast shift, in fact, it's Interpol as usual, just with a more ambitious, wider sound - vaster production values, but none of that bombast. It's quite refreshing to here a band trying to extend their earlier sound accordingly, so there is essence of Talk Talk in opener Pioneer to the Falls, twiddly post rock shapes on The Lighthouse and Wrecking Ball, and psychedelia on Mammoth, which sounds like Dust-era Screaming Trees playing a Psychedelic Furs song. Our Love to Admire isn't the sellout LP, and Interpol don't warrant those Duran Duran-jibes from the Independent's Andy Gill (especially since they seem to have been borrowed from a member of Battles dissing The Strokes in the Guardian!!). Interpol do sound like bands of yore - Comsat Angels, Kitchens of Distinction, the Furs, The Chameleons, The Sound, the Bunnymen etc - but they still manage to sound a bit fresh and transcend the easy fingerpointing "that comes from there...and there..." that I do with LCD Soundsystem, Josef Ferdinand & Radiohead.The most epic tracks are amongst the most interesting here, Pioneer to the Falls, Rest My Chemistry and The Lighthouse all push five minutes, perhaps this is a direction Interpol should follow next? The sound has changed, there are lots more keyboards and emebellishments, which might have to do with the drummer having nerve problems, or Carlos D wanting to make soundtracks and listening only to classical (see a recent blog on Guardian Unlimited). I wonder if an instrumental record by Interpol would be interesting? - though I think they like songs and vocals, so like a band like Wire, seem caught between poppier climes and the avant garde, which isn't the worst place to be...No I in Threesome is unlike a previous record, with a John Cale/Terry Riley style piano and a feel that reminds me a little of early REM, or one of their peers like Pylon (see the wonderful Crazy). Next track The Scale similarly throws the listener, who might be waiting for an Evil or Slow Hands - instead it's a tight mid paced rocker that concludes with an E-Bow solo from Paul Banks that sounds very Robert Fripp...which can only be quite a decent thing? Those who wanted another Antics and not best pleased so far will be appeased with single the Heinrich Maneuver which is a sort of sequel to Evil, with a Pixies-style bassline - though it's even tighter and more angular, veering off into an odd direction - even sounding like the next track. Heinrich even gets away with the line, "today my heart swings", which in other hands probably wouldn't fly. My favourite track and the centrepiece of the album is Mammoth, which appears to be one of the few tracks they're playing from Our Love to Admire on this year's tour - though much of that has been Festival related. Let's hope that more Admire-material is moved into the live set by the time I see them in Birmingham in August! I'd rather hear No I In Threesome, Rest My Chemistry, Mammoth, Pioneer to the Falls, The Scale, Heinrich, Pace is the Trick and The Lighthouse than an older song...The first half of the LP concludes strongly on Pace is the Trick, which feels like an expansion on directions apparent on earlier joys like NYC, Leif Erikson and A Time So Small. Our Love...goes a bit askew next with All Fired Up, which doesn't quite hang together for me - sounding like several ideas that don't quite fuse together - fortunately Rest My Chemistry is next and returns things back to that high standard. The keyboards are quite ambient, though the second guitar that comes in does sound like that riff from Where Is My Mind by The Pixies!! Who Do You Think sounds like a revisit to the style of Say Hello to the Angels, while the closing duo of Wrecking Ball and The Lighthouse point at interesting directions for the future (whether Capitol will agree with that though...). The last two tracks feel a little shoegaze, a little post rock and certainly not the anthemic directions that some may have expected from a Killers version of Interpol...How Our Love to Admire will date is another question, but right now it sounds pretty fine and not the dud some reviews are suggesting - I have a feeling some of these songs will be as pleasantly regarded as Untitled, Obstacle 1, or Not Even Jail in the future...

Interpol's second LP Antics failed to commercially breakthrough, though the Interpol toured epically in support of it. Our Love to Admire is Interpol's major label debut, there is a distinct fear that the 'Pol (as they're never called etc...) might turn into a U2-band like The Killers, or worse, end up as a Simple Minds-style take on the dreary Editors. Our Love to Admire is quite reassuring, Interpol sounding like...Interpol - a glum, somewhat studied band who couldn't be mistaken for a Coldplay or Keane in any line-up. I've never really seen the frequent Joy Division-comparisons, apart from Paul Banks' vocals live and the first few seconds of 'PDA' - but there are definite reminders of bands from the past: Comsat Angels, the Bunnymen, The Sound, The Chameleons & Kitchens of Distinction. Interpol do manage to transcend these influences, and with Our Love to Admire they take the sound of Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics and give things a vaster treatment.With the Pol's drummer Sam Fogarino suffering nerve damage and bassist Carlos D blogging about classical music and starting to think about soundtracks, the Interpol sound has changed. It is in a wider screen, more expansive, though not remotely bombastic - epic opener 'Pioneer to the Falls' as classic an opener as 'Next Exit' or 'Untitled' - but with a dub quality and the kind of jazz-classical sound you'd expect from a late period Talk Talk record. I wasn't sure about this record first of all, probably scared it would be as empty as the last two U2 records - where Antics was fairly instant with songs like Evil, NARC, Slow Hands and C'Mere - Our Love to Admire isn't - the songs take awhile to reveal themselves, overall it feels like the original Bunnymen delivering a Spirit of Eden.'No I in Threesome' and 'The Scale' don't give the expected kicks, the former is like early REM with avant classical piano - a song that improves with every listen. I do hope the Interpol sets features more of this record, thus far they have only regularly played about 4 songs - 'No I in Threesome' should be one of them. 'The Scale' is another joy, having a riff that is sort of prog post-punk with expansive keyboards, this sounds like huge stuff, again, not bombastic - filling up space completely. The final section featuring a distorted E-Bow suggests they should focus more on the post rock than post punk - maybe they should release something that isn't song/vocal based in the future?Single 'The Heinrich Maneuver' will no doubt give those enamoured with Antics what they wanted, a pulsing 'Evil'-style rocker that offers a narrative of a disintegrating couple on the other side of the States. Suitably fractal and managing to get away with some of the slightly nonsensical lyrics of yore. Not many folk could get away with "today my heart swings!" - 'Heinrich' is a tight, angular beast and not that poppy, so probably quite a curious single choice - the concluding riffs are as tight as Josef Ferdinand or Fugazi. The next track 'Mammoth' initially sounds like the latter part of 'Heinrich', but instead reveals itself to be the centre of the album and probably the highlight. It sounds like Screaming Trees playing Psychedelic Furs, which is more than alright where I reside - a definite psychedelic vibe is detected with the swirling guitarscape. More please!!'Pace is the Trick' looks more to the ballad side of Interpol, a suitably epic sounding ballad that in time will no doubt take its place alongside 'NYC', 'The New', 'A Time So Small', or 'Public Pervert'. The next track 'All Fired Up' attempts a curious time signature, the sort of thing you get with Prince's 'Dance On' or Husker Du's 'Terms of Psychic Warfare' - sadly it doesn't completely hang together, perhaps this should have been saved for b-side-dom? 'Rest My Chemistry' restores the quality instantly, another of the new songs that has been regularly played on this years tour - time will tell if it is an Interpol classic, but it's already sounding like one, despite the fact the guitar reminds me lots of 'Where Is My Mind?' by The Pixies!!The final trio of songs will probably come across more with further listening, though it is possible a dud or three might be present. 'Who Do You Think' sounds a bit like songs like 'Obstacle 1' and 'Say Hello to the Angels', but at present doesn't sound as memorable as either. 'Wrecking Ball' is very, very keyboard heavy with chants and the like - Interpol are certainly trying; the closing track 'The Lighthouse' is an even more fractal affair, a little bit shoegaze, a little bit math/post rock - the band sounding they're moving more towards soundscapes akin to Seefeel, Sigur Ros, or Slowdive. The next Interpol record could be where things get really interesting? - in the meantime, this is a pretty decent third LP, Interpol advancing their sound and pointing towards their future. If you just want Antics or Turn on the Bright Lights again, why don't you just buy them again? In the meantime, there is Our Love to Admire...

I already had "Antics" and "...Bright Lights", so grabbed this when I saw a cheap second hand copy. Terrific album. My favourite of heirs so far. "No I in Threesome" is amusing; all the musicianship is excellent.

After listening to this album a very times I like it very much. But then I am an Interpol fan so maybe a bit biased. It's best to read some of the other reviews for a more in depth view. But this is an album I,m happy to own.

Thank You. CD was OK to listen to, and I could watch DVDs on my laptop.

I know everyone says Antics is the best Interpol album but I still think OLTA is brilliant. I purchased this for the DVD primarily which is definitely worth it if you're an interpol fan like me but otherwise just stick with the audio cd and watch the vids on youtube.

... winner from Interpol, although the picture is slightly disturbing but hey... life is like that. Best album yet me thinks.

For me the Interpol group's best album, wonderful vinyl, excellent remastering of this vinyl