I can still remember getting my first Interpol album, Turn On The Bright Lights, way back in 2002. After hearing about them somewhere, I immediately made sure that the new album was in my hands on day one. Turn On the Bright Lights is a genuine retro post-punk effort that has aged well…just like many of the albums it served to emulate. That writes well in my book. Judging by the fact that the debut album sold over 500,000 units , I’d say many of you were just as pleased with the music that Interpol created.
After their Matador Records debut, they returned with Antics (2004). Just like its predecessor, it performed well on the charts. I found the album to be of lesser musical quality than the first, however, I still enjoyed it immensely. When Our Love To Admire released as a Capitol Records debut in 2007, the band’s third , I was not as pleased with the results.
Interpol returned to Matador Records with the release of their fourth album, the self-titled Interpol issued in 2010. From the first song, I felt that Interpol were coming back. Their vocals had a ’60s Pop band sound, their music a new and genuine refresher to the late ’70s classic era of post-punk. With four albums in release, Interpol had done a lot since 2002 to build upon their catalog with decent albums.
On September 9 in the US, (September 8 elsewhere), Matador Records will release the band’s next album (their fifth). The new album is being called El Pintor, a title that serves several purposes. The first is the fact that it is a Spanish term that means The Painter. However, it is noted at Pitchfork that El Pintor also serves as an anagram of the band’s Interpol name. Regardless, the title is clever is the naming was intentional as an anagram.
El Pintor will contain ten new tracks. It will be released on LP, DD, and CD. There will also be an exclusive white vinyl set that will be initially made available to people who pre-order the album, but them made available on a wider basis individually. People who pre-order the DD via iTunes will be gifted with a bonus track on release day, and an early download of “All the Rage Back Home” at some point in mid-July.
I hope the best for this new Interpol release!