Interpol - "Pioneer to the Falls" (2007)

Interpol are an indie rock band from New York City that you’ve undoubtedly heard of by now. They broke on the scene in 2002 with their debut Turn on the Bright Lights which featured the semi-hit “PDA.” I saw the video for that song on MTV2 a couple of times and I really kind of thought they were weird. My musical tastes were still developing at that point. In late 2004 Interpol came back with their sophomore album Antics. I was immediately hooked by the first single “Slow Hands” with it’s chugging guitar line and catchy chorus. I was especially hooked after seeing the video for the second single “Evil.” Aside from being a great song, the video takes it to a whole new level and I’ve never seen a puppet quite as creepy. Needless to say I was kind of psyched about Interpol’s third album Our Love To Admire, even more so after hearing lead single “The Heinrich Maneuver.” However, when the album finally came out last July, I was a little let down. There just didn’t seem to be that many hooks outside of “Heinrich” and a lot of the album seemed like Interpol was rehashing what they’ve done before. I didn’t listen to it for a while after getting it, but I’ve gone back to it a few more times recently and I can see some of its merits. Initially, I thought “Pioneer to the Falls” was a strange choice for the first track partially because of its near six minute run time. After repeated listens I’ve found that is probably the most well crafted song on the record, with a guitar line that at times seems menacing. If you’re new to Interpol I would recommend Antics first. After that Our Love To Admire will seem to make more sense. I’m still a big Interpol fan and will continue to support them, but I hope they will branch out just a hair more in future efforts.


Interpol - "Pioneer to the Falls"