On Sept. 28, Interpol released Antics, their long awaited follow-up to their major label debut. This album shows a departure from the moody, if not depressing, Turn On The Bright Lights. With their last album, the lyrics preached about alienation and desperation, and Paul Banks’ voice was very monotonous. The album was a refreshing breath of air from all of the other mainstream pop music that year. They were dark, gloomy and hypnotic, and the lyrics were cryptic; no one but Banks’ knows the true meaning behind the line “the subway she is a porno,” from the song “NYC.” Critics hailed them as the next Joy Division. It was no surprise when Turn On The Bright Lights was nominated in 2003 for the Shortlist Music Prize, an award given by artist and producers in the industry for albums that push the musical boundaries.

The pressure was on for the band to deliver on their sophomore effort. For the most part they deliver. On Antics, Interpol still keeps their relatively pessimistic and sarcastic lyrics, but the beats are a lot catchier-you can bop your head to it. The sounds and melodies are more compelling. The first single off the album, “Slow Hands,” is a great example of that, “can’t you see what you’ve done to my heart / and soul? / this is a wasteland now.” Interestingly, this is one of the more upbeat tracks on the album. “Evil” and “Narc” follow along in suit.

Just because the sound on this album is more optimistic, it doesn’t mean they have departed from what they are best known for: atmospheric sounds with lyrical depth. On the opening track “Near Exit,” you hear organs that sound like they belong in a church. “Near Exit” is the only track on Antics that sounds like anything on Turn On The Bright Lights. On the track “Take You On A Cruise,” they also blend aspects of their last album. The track starts out in traditional Interpol fashion-bleak and murky-yet once you hit the chorus, there’s a peak in sound with baselines that you remember long after the song ends.

Clearly, Antics is not Turn On The Bright Lights Version 2, it shows that the band can expand and change their sound without losing their roots. Interpol distances themselves from the bands they were compared to; they make their own distinct mark on the musical landscape. Instead of being compared to other bands, they will be the standard that artists will be graded on.

-Samantha Nwaoshai