Interpol commits antics but still remains bright

Alright, so I’ll come right out and say it: I didn’t like Antics the first time I heard it. If you are expecting to hear Turn on the Bright Lights part two, you probably won’t care for Antics the first time you hear it, either. This initial distaste is probably due in great part to the first track, "Next Exit," a slow, uninspired song that is unfortunately both the weakest song on the album and incredibly un-Interpol – a complete about-face to the sound that made their debut so wonderful. Indeed, as is made obvious by the first track to almost exaggerative proportion, Interpol has changed their sound on Antics. The emphasis seems to have shifted in almost every aspect. Where vocalist Paul Banks was drowned by Bright Lights’ driving guitar pulses, his voice is pushed to the forefront in Antics. Where the first album exhibited a gloomy and almost inhuman quality in its production, the follow-up sounds like an up-tempo live band. Interpol’s mood-first, melody-second style has been flipped on its head and so too, it seems, has Interpol itself in an attempt to fix something that was never broken.

After the initial confusion wears off, however, Antics makes perfect sense. Interpol could have traveled the Strokes route and produced a follow-up effort that basically mirrors the formula of their successful debut, but they have instead made a conscious effort to develop a broader style and sound. This adventurousness may turn away some fans, but, in the end, Antics remains as a solid collection of songs that does not deserve the inevitable sophomore slump accusations it will receive. "Narc," a strangely danceable track with a soaring chorus, is perhaps the album’s best track and rivals anything off of the first album. Hints of "PDA" and "Obstacle 1" shine through on tracks like "Slow Hands" and "Evil," but the brilliance of Bright Lights is never fully focused in these moments.

On the whole, the songs of Antics are engaging and worthwhile, and the album, though at times slow and ineffective, gets better with each listen.