A look into Interpol’s “Turn on the Bright Lights”
When many think of the post-punk genre, they think of the 1970s and the early 2000s. Bands ranging from Joy Division, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and moreover, one of the biggest examples, Interpol. Especially in the case of their 2002 debut album, Turn On the Bright Lights. Interpol covers a variety of emotions, people and places in a mere 49 minutes. Turn On the Bright Lights remains one of the most prominent examples of popular indie rock and remains one of the pinnacles of the post-punk revival genre.
The album is expansive, dark and beautiful… not shocking for a debut album of the 2000s. Opening with the mostly-instrumental song Untitled, Paul Banks — the lead singer of the band — introduces the atmosphere that permeates the whole album. He introduces the concept of “being down,” with the lyric “Oh, I will surprise you sometime, I’ll come around when you’re down.” This is something that he will come back to in the album in a later track.
Coming in hot on the next track — Obstacle 1 — the band brings in a more in-your-face sound for the listener. Banks’ distinctive vocals come out more as he increases his volume on the second track. You can definitely see where bands like She Wants Revenge get their inspiration from, especially in vocals, but not in content or sound.
Interpol is a band that hails from New York City, so obviously, a track titled NYC is more than appropriate. The song’s lyrics range from “The subway is a porno,” to “I’m tired of spending these lonely nights teaching myself not to care.” The song’s interesting lyrics plays into the next song, PDA. Now, these lyrics contain mysterious lines lie “You’re so cute when you’re frustrated, dear. You’re so cute when you’re sedated, dear.” These dark tones also reach into the music video as well.
At this point in the album, I am already sold and I am not even halfway through the album. The album provides conveys the deep longing that comes with being young. The band emanates techniques and sounds that haven’t been as masterfully arranged since Ian Curtis was around. Even then, they might have even surpassed his masterful touch on songwriting.
The rest of the album continues to channel this, with songs like Say Hello to the Angels. The album then calms down again, with Hands Away even bringing in a string ensemble, adding to the already lush guitar and percussion arrangements. Then, faster than anything, Banks brings the listener back with the charged Obstacle 2, with an opening stanza that ends with “Because friends don’t waste wine when there’s words to sell.” This reminds me about my own experiences as a writer and as a former musician. Wine costs money, and time is money. The two go hand in hand.
The band closes with a quadruple set of amazing songs, beginning with the popular Stella Was A Diver and She Was Always Down. Describing the ideal girl of Banks’ dreams, his secret and esoteric admiration won’t be secret for much longer… when he wails “Stella, oh Stella, Stella I love you.” After getting ahold of his beloved Stella, Banks’ beings to reveal about himself and the people he interacts with. He describes one of his friends, on the eponymous track Roland. The track talks about his friend Roland, who “always took the time to speak with me and I liked him for that.” Then revealing, “He severed segments so secretly you liked that.”
The album closes with two somber songs: The New and Leif Erikson. Seeing that Leif Erikson Day has just transpired; this album review seems a lot more appropriate. The New is the classic love song, with the song discussing hopes of living together with your loved one and how hard and all too real and passionate love can truly be. Leif Erikson paints a dark and dismal ending to the album, a sure-fire way to end the album on the perfect low note.
In conclusion, Turn On the Bright Lights remains one of the crown jewels of early 2000s indie music. With beautiful arrangements, vivid imagery, and relatable subject matter, it is one of the pioneers of the post-punk revival genre and continues to be one of my personal favorites in my collection. I did not appreciate it as much at first, but it grew on me as time went on. Now, for me, it is one of the perfect study albums or perfect for taking in on a night spent indoors.
