When Interpol emerged in the early 2000s, they were as foreboding and impenetrable as their name of international policing suggests. While the black suits are still de rigueur, the mood lightens somewhat on the band’s latest album Marauder. Produced by Dave Fridmann, who brought out the weird and wacky side of Flaming Lips and Tame Impala, it’s the sound of a band reinvigorated.
Add to this the fact that the Manhattan trio had never previously performed at the Royal Albert Hall, a venue tailor-made for their magisterial post-punk, and last night felt far fresher than you might expect from a band in their 21st year together.
In the end, Interpol opted for highlights from the new record, interspersed with some old favourites. Of the former variety, If You Really Love Nothing featured the rarely heard falsetto of frontman Paul Banks, while The Rover was a riot of coruscating guitars and galloping beats.
Say Hello to the Angels, with a rare Interpol mistake, forced the band to restart the song, but the rest of the set was watertight.
The highlights came from the band’s era-defining debut, Turn on the Bright Lights. Leif Erikson showcased the best of Banks’s stentorian bellow. When the apocalypse comes, it still won’t sound as earth-shattering as set-closer Obstacle 1. Immense.
