Interpol’s hollow instrumentation leaves much to be desired

The first time I listened to Interpol’s “Turn on the Bright Lights” I was heavily repelled by their easy going, “minimal” sound. After letting it cool on the window sill for an hour, a second listen created a slight appreciation for them, but I still didn’t find the brilliant record the critics promised. There are tracks on this New York band’s first full-length release that glow but the album has too many dim moments to be nowhere near classic.

The intense hype surrounding this album in elite circles is what first caught my eye. The three-digit price tag lured me in (almost all stores have “Turn on the Bright Lights” for $9.99 or less). The downbeat mood of the album suits the group well. It’s not always the best sign when you can listen to the first track of an album and know exactly what is coming at you for the next 45 minutes. All 11 songs here feature fully repetitive guitar riffs throughout, making things very linear and unlikely to surprise anyone.

Some of the stronger of these nearly interchangeable songs would be “Obstacle 1,” “Roland” and “PDA.” Indeed, a single listen to “The New” might make some think that this band could turn out to be a staple in an ever-changing rock scene. Mostly though, it’s just incredibly hard to be amazed by anything Interpol tries to accomplish.

Despite the fact that Interpol’s sound is obviously honed to appeal to the most pretentious of music critics, the staggering vulnerability of their lyrics keeps the album from sinking into boring, anti-mainstream audio hell. On many songs such as “Say Hello To The Angels” the lyrics are both bluntly emotional and equally up to interpretation: “I can’t control the part of me that swells up/ when you move into my airspace…/ But each night, I bury my love around you/ You’re linked to my innocence.”

Coating the frequently mechanical and lifelessly structured music of Interpol with such sentimental lyrics is analogous to the way soft moss grows on stubborn trees. While this formula needs time to sink it’s fuzzy essence into the ears of listeners, it is difficult to be patient.

In an overall sense, these songs melt together pretty darn well even if you don’t consider how similar each track sounds. While Interpol succeeds at creating an attractive mood, they fail miserably in their attempts to manufacture grandeur as awe-inspiring as Sigur Ros’ “Agaetis Byjrun” or The Flaming Lips’ “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.”

While the vocal style is strangely reminiscent of something stuffed between 80s synth- pop and new wave, it is more appetizing at times than I could ever imagine possible. Pairs of puzzling lines such as “Oh look it stopped snowing/ My best friend’s from Poland and, um, he has a beard” sound closer to Shakespeare than the Bloodhound Gang when lead singer Paul Banks is delivering them.

Even though songs like “The New” and “Obstacle 1” have plenty of hear. They barely sound more advanced from a musical standpoint than say New Found Glory or Sum 41.

Sure the treasures that lie within this album aren’t obvious at first glance. There is a lot of “Turn on the Bright Lights” to be unraveled with each listen, but there should be something a little more enticing on the surface. The music sounds empty and endlessly repetitive that it is hard to appreciate the better aspects of the band.

Maybe “Turn on the Bright Lights” was over-hyped and that distorted my perspective a bit, but overall the album is a disappointment. Sure you can grab it for little cash, but generally I felt that this CD should be re-released under the title “Turn Off The Lights.” This album doesn’t provoke narcolepsy in the way the lush environment of “OK Computer” does, it just bores anyone yearning for variety into a light nap.

The harshness with which I judge this album is somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction though, and might not be as horrible as some of my descriptions imply. It’s still hard to tell if the funny feeling in my head is me being impressed by Interpol’s creative lyrics or a result of the droning guitars featured throughout all 49 minutes of “Turn on the Bright Lights.”

Rating: 3 Stars