Interpol’s bright lights continue to shine after emerging from New York rock scene
New York has been one of the most fertile rock scenes since the birth of the genre. The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, The Ramones, Blondie and The New York Dolls are just some of the seminal acts who emerged from the city.
But vital rock bands have continued to emerge from New York, including The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Interpol, who broke out of New York in the 2000s.
Journalist Lizzy Goodman chronicled the New York rock scene in the book, “Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011,” which hit shelves in 2017.
Interpol receives considerable attention. However, Interpol guitarist-songwriter Daniel Kessler is surprised that such a book was written.
“I never expected anyone to write about that scene and put it in book form,” Kessler says while calling from his New York apartment. “Lizzy Goodman is a friend, but I never read the book. I never expected her or anyone to look back at that period.”
Kessler doesn’t believe the time was so special, but perhaps that’s because he was at the epicenter of the scene. Interpol was a huge part of New York’s post-punk revival with its moody, atmospheric tunes. Kessler’s angular guitar work and vocalist-guitarist Paul Banks’ detached vocals set Interpol apart.
“We were doing something different,” Kessler says. “It’s been working for us.”
Interpol, who will perform Feb. 14, at the Ritz, has been consistent since the release of its melancholy debut album, 2002’s “Turn on the Bright Lights.”
“PDA,” “Evil” and “Slow Hands” are just some of the act’s indie rock hits. Interpol, which also includes drummer Sam Fogarino, continues to craft compelling, brooding rock.
“Marauder,” Interpol’s latest, released in August, is the work of a band forging ahead 20 years after forming. The band rocks harder with some of its rawest material. For the first time since 2007’s “Our Love to Admire,” Interpol hired an outside producer. Dave Fridmann (MGMT, The Flaming Lips and Mogwai) deserves credit for pushing the trio.
“When we found out that Dave Fridmann would be interested in producing the album, we all said that would be amazing,” Kessler says. “What I love about what he does is that he doesn’t have a signature sound. Every album he produces sounds different. He helped take us to another place. We don’t want to repeat ourselves. We’re evolving, and the cool thing is that our audience is growing. We’re playing bigger venues.”
It doesn’t get much bigger for a New York band to play Madison Square Garden, which will host Interpol this month.
“Playing MSG is incredible,” Kessler says. “I can’t play it down. If you’re a band from New York, playing MSG is a dream come true. I’ve seen some cool shows there, like Queens of the Stone Age and David Bowie when he toured with Nine Inch Nails. It’s amazing to think that we’re going to be playing there. It makes me think of our early days when every record company rejected us. We finally were signed (by Matador) and once we had that chance, we just worked as hard as we could work. We’re still working hard. We put everything we had into ‘Marauder.’”
Kessler acknowledges it’s a challenge to assemble a set list, now that the band has six albums.
“It’s tough since we still play songs from every album we’ve made,” Kessler says. “It’s a juggling act since we want to play songs from ‘Marauder’ but we want to represent our prior work and mix things up. It’s a great problem to have.”
Details
Who: Interpol, Sunflower Bean
When: Feb. 14, 8 p.m.
Where: The Ritz, 2820 Industrial Drive, Raleigh
Tickets: $29
Info: 919-424-1400 or ritzraleigh.com
This story was originally published February 7, 2019 at 12:00 AM.