by Adam Hacker
photo by Jamie-James Medina
A totem of New York’s early ‘00s post-punk revival, Interpol has inspired legions of imitators with their brooding, indiscernible lyrics and slithering guitar attack. Paul Banks’s baritone paved the way for bands like The National to show the world how sad one man could be. In the beginning, Interpol stood out from their peers like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Strokes in their formality. Karen O and Julian Casablancas wore biker jackets and threw beer cans, but Paul Banks, Daniel Kessler, Carlos Dengler, and Sam Fogarino dressed to the nines and in their early concerts, moved almost cautiously on stage. Interpol’s songs sound like they could have been recorded in an empty concert hall, but the music is so intimate that anything else would have seemed way too much. It’s a shame that Carlos D left the band, but the remaining trio seem to be doing just fine for themselves.
