New York, NY · post-punk · indie-rock · post-punk revival · indie rock

Interpol

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Early-2000s New York at its most funereal and best-dressed — interlocking guitars, Paul Banks's monotone, and no wasted motion, 'Turn On the Bright Lights' still immaculate.

Interpol formed in New York in 1997 when Daniel Kessler and drummer Greg Drudy set out to put a band together. Kessler met bassist Carlos Dengler in a philosophy class at New York University, and ran into Paul Banks, whom he had first known in France, in the East Village. The group weighed names including Las Armas and the French Letters before settling on Interpol.

They played early shows at the Luna Lounge alongside fellow New York bands the Strokes, Longwave, the National and Stellastarr, part of a wider scene tied to the era's post-punk revival. Drudy left in 2000 to concentrate on his own band and record label, and Sam Fogarino, then working in a vintage clothing store, replaced him on drums.

Their 2002 debut, Turn On the Bright Lights, released by Matador, became one of the defining records of the era's post-punk revival, built on interlocking guitar lines, high melodic bass and Banks's flat, deadpan baritone. Pitchfork named it album of the year, and critics drew comparisons to Joy Division, Television and Echo and the Bunnymen. No single member serves as the band's primary songwriter.

Antics followed in 2004 and Our Love to Admire in 2007, after which the band moved to a major label and then back to Matador. Dengler left in 2010, and Banks took over bass duties in the studio for the following three records, starting with the self-titled Interpol.

Later albums have kept the sound recognisable: El Pintor in 2014, Marauder in 2018 and The Other Side of Make-Believe in 2022. The band has also revisited its early catalogue on stage, touring Turn On the Bright Lights in full in 2017 and marking Antics' twentieth anniversary in 2024.

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post-punkindie-rockpost-punk revivalindie rock