The past weighs heavy on Interpol. Two albums of raw, urgent, post-punk energy with immense rhythm and aspiration will do that to a band. Third album ‘Our Love to Admire’ was a letdown, however gentle. It felt overdressed, losing the heart and soul of the band for the sake of glossy production and epic realisations. And after a year of cancelled support slots with U2 and the departure of bassist Carlos Dengler (he played on the album), their latest is now carrying more than just expectation; people need to know that everything is going to be alright. To be honest, Bowlegs can’t be sure it will. This is another grand statement of polished recordings, that remain, as always, highly listenable, yet, like their last, far from vital. The single ‘Lights’ was a fair indicator – its beating bass drum, heart-strung strings and drawn out ending – all seemingly built for the stadiums and Top 40. If you listen back to ‘Antics’, any track will do; then pick a track from here it is like they have got an additional ten members – all armed with glistening guitars, orchestral manoeuvres and reverb pedals. Lead singer Paul Banks used to be in the room with you, now he is in a hall with a few backing singers close by (or clones of the lead singer). ‘Barricade’ and the slow tilted ‘Memory Serves’ are decent tracks, yet the urgency is lost on the echoed ghosts. Things pick up considerably on the back half of the set – the stripped and simplistic first half of ‘Safe Without’ meets expectation. It is followed by tracks of effective introspection and slow moving cinema (a new direction that seems to work). It is hard to criticise a band focused on wider landscapes, and ‘Interpol’ is by no means a failure. But the bottom line is that it is not as good as those first two albums. GD