Musical Thesis: Interpol "Interpol"
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At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews aren’t about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.
I have possessed a passive knowledge of Interpol for some time, but I have never really dug into their catalog. From time to time, I would hear a song on an indie station or featured on a movie or television show. Beyond that, I was pretty clueless. Then, I got the album “Interpol” in the mail thanks to a vinyl of the month club. When I dropped the needle, I had no expectations, which was really refreshing. As the music began to escape the speakers, I was treated to an expression of deeply personal feelings; feelings so naked and the possession of someone else that I was afraid to be in the same room with them for fear of violation.
Over the course of an entire album two concepts stuck with me: needing someone so badly it hurts and being kept from something great. Anyone who has been deeply in love can surely relate to the first station. Love is so intoxicating, alluring, and powerful that it causes us to do strange things. This collection echoes those sentiments and adds them to the pulsing madness only this band can provide. Seriously, this is one of those albums that demands to be turned up, so you can catch every single word.
On my third listen through this album, I realized the lyrics were about more than needing someone. They were about needing someone and being kept away from them. This longing either comes from a love that is either never returned or people, places, things, or time itself standing in the way. This denial makes this a heartbreaking album, but its saving grace can be found in the way it is delivered. When the speakers went silent before attempting to write this, I slowly nodded my head in agreement. I get it now. I understand.
Be good to each other,
-Nathan
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