interpol

The first time I listened to Turn on the Bright Lights I had to stop doing whatever I was doing. Being so used to do other activities while listening to music, too often the sound becomes buried underneath, a mere accessory to my doings. That's why whenever a song, a voice, an album, grabs my attention, it means that there is something good going on.
Joy Division were somehow back on the headlines thanks to films, documentaries and several other activities about the mythical band, but I didn't expect Interpol.
Listening to them was to listen the best of Joy Division. They share a lot: percussive rhythms, sharp guitars, preponderant bass, deep voice. The lesson was thoroughly learned. But they also added the atmosphere (sorry about the word-game), the surrounding sound, the soft but caressing distorsions. You can feel the production work: 30 years of evolution in the producing world haven't been in vain! They have not only been used to mass-produce mainstream hits, they have also brought to us melodies and atmospheres never imagined previously (i.e. Sigur Rós, Björk, Explosions in the Sky. Mogway, Efterklang...).

Yes, it is true that then Antics was released. Which is not half as good. Which I did never manage to enjoy. In which they try to repeat a formula which had already aged. And I lost track of them. But Turn on the Bright Lights exists. It was in my hands. It is in my head.