Today is my stepfather Lawrence’s
83rd birthday. He’s having a
hard time of it these days but he’s a good man, and I love him. Happy birthday, Lawrence.
I wish I could have celebrated Lawrence’s
birthday with a better album, but the dice gods had other plans.
Disc 518 is…. Antics
Artist: Interpol
Year of Release: 2004
What’s up with the Cover? I like the simplicity, but would it kill these guys
to leave a space between the band name and the album name?
How I Came To Know It: I believe Sheila discovered this band on the radio through
their 2007 album “Our Love To Admire.”
Seeing that she liked them I decided to get her another one of their
records for a gift and this was it.
How It Stacks Up: We only have two Interpol albums; this one and the
aforementioned “Our Love To Admire.”
Rating: 2 stars but only barely.
As you
may have noticed, I have a bit of a music habit, and it often leads me to mine
an entire artist’s collection when I decide I like them. With a few notable exceptions, Sheila is
generally happy to get just those records she really likes. Because of this, when I buy Sheila a CD as a
gift I try to make sure I get her something that I think she’ll like more than
me. Otherwise, it is just me feeding my
own insatiable music habit.
Sheila
really likes “Interpol’s” 2007 album, “Our Love to Admire” and I thought it was
pretty good too, so getting “Antics” - their previous album – seemed like a
safe bet on all counts. I would’ve been
better off gambling on Scratch N’ Wins.
“Antics”
is the worst of modern indie music. A
boring conglomeration of people plunking away on multiple instruments to make a
droning wall of sound that essentially deadens what little melody is worth
hearing.
I had a
hard time figuring out what most of the songs were about because they were so
monotone just paying attention was a challenge. I looked for lyrics in the CD
booklet, but it was just page after page of out-of-focus band member shots,
white dots and dashes on a black background, and two out of focus shots of
hallway lamps that look like an art-school project gone wrong.
The one
thing I’ll stand up for is the rhythm section, which is pretty good. The drummer is strong and the bass player
actually lays down some interesting licks, when the excessive production isn’t
drowning him out.
The opening
track, “Next Exit” is also pretty
good overall. It has a nice slow tempo
and a sparse production that showcases a bit of tastefully placed piano. Even the guitar player shows his stuff when
he finally gets a chance to do a little actual playing, rather than the two or
three repeating notes that mars the remainder of the record.
The rest
of the songs all have the same repetitive sound. They will occasionally start with an
interesting riff here or there, but it isn’t long before the band has drowned
it into the usual talk-shouting of obtuse lyrics and jangling repetitive
arrangements that make even four minute songs feel interminably long.
The lead
singer (whatever his name is) has that droning emotionless vibrato that has
spoiled more than a few good albums, except this is not a good album to start
with. Sheila thinks the singing style sounds like a cross between Morrissey and
Ethel Merman and I must agree.
Like the
Smiths, this is music for awkward teens to lie on their bed staring at the
ceiling, occasionally sighing or exclaiming “Gawd! Life is so lame!” Alternatively, it could be used as auditory
scene decoration for an episode of the Vampire Diaries or any other one of the soap
operas masquerading as Gothic art these days.
Whatever
this music is, it isn’t for me. I still
enjoy their follow up, “Our Love To Admire” and I’m looking forward to
reviewing that one when I roll it. As
for “Antics” I’ll be parting ways with it permanently, with Sheila’s full
blessing.
Best tracks: Next Exit
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