Author's note: I will do local music stuff next time, I swear. As an old-school Interpol fan, there is no way I'm not reviewing this record.
Interpol - Our Love To Admire

Despite all the Joy Division references, Interpol made an impression largely by splitting the difference between The Cure and Duran Duran. The balance of minor-key dirges and slick decadence, perfected on 2002’s Turn On The Bright Lights and poppified on 2004’s Antics, made Interpol a band for all seasons, an apt soundtrack for wintry desolation or a horny summer night out. Tuesday saw the release of Our Love To Admire, the band's first for Capitol records.

For the most part, Admire follows the template set by Antics. Opener "Pioneer To The Falls" sustains an atmosphere of quiet foreboding before blossoming into an orchestral post-punk march. "No I In Threesome," vocalist Paul Banks' surprisingly heartfelt plea to an estranged lover to rekindle their relationship via groupsecks, is, musically, the lightest and most melodic thing they've done to date. Despite the questionable nature of vocalist Banks' sincerity here--"give something new a try," indeed--the track burns, riding jangly guitar hooks and moody keyboard counterpoint to a melodically ambitious chorus.

But there is no room for filler on an 11-track album, and unfortunately Admire balances an EP's worth of luxurious post-punk with long stretches of leaden murk that fail to leave any impression whatever. At their best, the songs on Admire achieve a kind of stately menace, but there is little of either the melodic intricacy or punky velocity of older songs. Despite a nifty whammy-dive flourish in the chorus, lead single "The Heinrich Maneuver" is a lightweight retread of Antics' "Slow Hands," and club-footed mopers like "Pace Is The Trick" and "All Fired Up" threaten to torpedo what little sense of pacing is left in the album's second half. "Lighthouse" makes for a redemption of sorts, with its impressionistic swells of guitar strumming, but what happened to the dynamics? Carlos D's churning bass lines and Sam Fogarino's inimitable drumming do what they can to jazz things up, but too often they plod along with Daniel Kessler's guitar patterns where they once strained anxiously against them.

Across 3 albums and various EPs and soundtrack work, Interpol have a grand total of 38 songs in their repertoire, which works out to less than 4 songs a year since they started out. A band with such a languid approach to working had better bring some heat when they get around to actually putting out a record. Perhaps that’s the problem; the worst that can be said about Our Love To Admire is that it’s waaayyyy too thought-out, drained of spontaneity, the sonic equivalent of a museum foyer. Interpol have a good thing going, but, as anyone who had the misfortune of watching their tone-deaf rendition of "Heinrich" on Letterman Tuesday night knows, they certainly aren't infallible.

That said, Our Love To Admire is still eminently listenable, and certainly one of the more ambitious releases this summer. Any band with such a singular musical presence runs the risk of becoming a Brand that overshadows their musical gifts, and Admire's flaws stem not so much from laziness as from thinking too much about what makes Interpol Interpol. With any luck, album four will be, in fact, something to love more than to admire.