Released: 2014

Genres: Post-Punk Revival, Dream Pop, Gothic Rock

The Musiquarium’s El Pintor Review Score: 7 out of 10

With bassist Carlos Dengler having left the band during the recording of their 2010 eponymous album, vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Banks has taken over bass duties on the band’s fifth album, El Pintor (an anagram of Interpol), as the band carries on as a trio.

All the Rage Back Home is more exciting than any of the songs on their previous album, making for a strong opener and lead single. My Desire has an interesting guitar riff comprised of hammer-ons and pull-offs, with Same Town, New Story having a similar riff. Paul Banks sings about cruising in his Cutlass Supreme on My Blue Supreme. Everything Is Wrong has some of Daniel Kessler’s best guitar work on the album. Tidal Wave features more prominent synthesizers and is one of the album’s most passionate tracks.

By this point in time, some of Interpol’s biggest rivals in the post-punk revival scene, like The Strokes or their British equivalents Arctic Monkeys, had both reinvented themselves, though Interpol has continued to do the same thing they’ve always done. Even taking it for what it is, El Pintor doesn’t reach the heights of the band’s first three records and isn’t quite good to be considered a comeback, but it’s still a major improvement over their flaccid self-titled album and a sign that the band might be able to survive without Carlos D’s basslines, which were such an integral part of the success of the band’s early records.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Interpol on Discogs.

Back to the 2014 Album Reviews Guide or the Interpol Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard