Interpol was high on the invitation list from the very beginning of The Art of Longevity because the band exemplifies the show's themes in the purest sense. Over 25 years this band has built on a distinctive and sturdy brand. Guitarist and band founder Daniel Kessler reveals how they operate…
In ‘Paper Cuts’, music journalist and author Ted Kessler writes: “In time, Interpol become my favourite modern guitar band. It doesn’t happen immediately…the band are irresistible, inevitable. Takes a while though.”
It sums up Interpol's stealthy slow-burn into the ears. This band was high on the invitation list from the very beginning of The Art of Longevity. That’s because the band exemplifies the show's themes in the purest sense. Interpol’s first album was released in 2002 - the height of buzz around the New York post-punk scene (The Strokes’ debut Is This It had whipped up the storm the year before). Yet that very time was also the eye of the needle of another storm in music - Napster, file sharing and the ‘death of the music industry’. Most of Interpol’s contemporaries who came up around the same time are long gone, yet Interpol are going strong. As Alexi Petredis’ put it in The Guardian review for latest album The Other Side Of Make Believe, they are “long past the point where they’re in the business of attracting new fans, they nevertheless keep moving, albeit subtly”.
Interpol have honed their craft over 20 years since they ‘blasted’ onto the scene in 2002 with Turn On The Bright Lights - another one of those infamous overnight successes (actually the culmination of five years of hard graft). The album received a 9.5 Pitchfork review, with music journalist Eric Carr expressing unobjective fandom with some pretty colourful adjectives:
“Interpol's debut full-length is wrought with emotional disconnection and faded glory, epic sweep and intimate catharsis.”
Indeed. Yet this band, somewhat badged over the years as art-rock, gloom-rock and what have you - has changed over 25 years - to the extent that The Other Side Of Make Believe surprised their immediate circle of friends, management, label, publishers.
Interpol has seen almost every longevity trend this podcast has discovered: the much hyped yet long-in-coming debut, the adventure with major labels and global stardom (and then being dropped), the madness of the rock & roll lifestyle, the loss of a founding member (bassist Carlos Dengler left in 2009) and the realisation that the industry they are part of isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Since Interpol came on the scene, everything about the music industry has changed, yet Interpol has built on a distinctive and sturdy brand.
In art, sometimes the aesthetic is the substance. Since the band has more than a strong element of cool, Daniel Kessler and I talk about things bands sometimes want to avoid - their brand - the use of font, colour, clothing and artwork in communicating an aesthetic that decorates the band’s music. It’s a strong part of their appeal and there’s nothing at all wrong with that. David Bowie would approve. Indeed Bowie was an Interpol fan.
The band licensed a Gary Winnagram photograph for the cover of 2015 album Marauder and the cover of the new album is Tim Head’s Equilibrium (razorblade). The band’s éclat allows such cool moves.
Interpol’s sound is evenly balanced between the usual rock elements - Paul Banks’ moody vocals, Daniel Kessler’s looping riffs, driving bass lines and drum patterns (Sam Fogerino is a secret weapon in the band if you listen closely). Between them, one senses a strong bond of trust and with it, a steadily growing creative confidence. There is a sense of the collective unit about everything they do. As Daniel puts it:
“I would bet on Paul and Sam as creative forces every time.”
The Other Side Of Make Believe is out now on Matador Records
Daniel gave me good news when we chatted for The Art of Longevity. Their joint headline tour with Spoon is about to happen. I thought it had happened already (not that hopping on a flight over to the USA to see a gig is a viable thing for me to do). If you are in the USA though, you are lucky x 2. It’s a rare thing to see two very cool, consistent bands do a joint headline tour - although in these post-covid times of concern over living costs, inflation and environmental concerns, I can see it catching on. Go and see these shows would be my advice.