“Untitled” – Interpol
(Words/music: Interpol, available on Turn on the Bright Lights, Matador Records 2002)

Turn on the Bright Lights struck so many people upon its release, myself included, because Interpol succeeded in cultivating a unified feeling in all of their songs.  The untitled opening track instantly establishes the two main aesthetic themes – darkness and largeness.  The dark part is well worn territory – from Paul Banks’ ominous sounding vocals and shadowy imagery to even the album’s artwork (and silhouetted band picture inside, if my memory serves me correctly).  Still, the darkness in these songs works only because the arrangements give the illusion of grand space.  Banks has a powerful voice, but it often sounds obscured by the instruments, giving the listener the impression that his surroundings make him seem smaller.  Specifically, the echo and reverb in the instruments makes them seem larger than life.  The opening riff in “Untitled” is simple enough, but when it’s repeated in rapid succession, it sounds like fog gradually rolling out with little in its way to constrict it.  When the drums enter, their booming sound contributes to the large, open feeling.

Banks sings one main line with three different endings – “[I will] surprise you sometimes” followed by “I’ll come around,” “will come around,” or “when you’re down.”  This repetition makes his narrator sound disoriented.  If we cast the song in a dark, open area (preying on two widespread fears), Banks’ narrator would wander the surroundings – perhaps a foggy, deserted area of the city – aimlessly.  As he keeps repeating this one line to himself – perhaps he’s rehearsing something he’s about to tell a friend, or rehashing a part of a letter – all these strange sounds (the sliding guitar lines, the slinking bass line) keep entering from the mist only to disappear again.  It’s only once Interpol establishes this dark haze that they are ready to move the plot forward.

More on Interpol: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm