"This album is, to me, one of the most influential of the century...This is why people start bands. Sometimes it just clicks, and this album is the epitome of that."
Emerging in the early 00's indie sleaze era, the Manhattan-formed band Interpol stepped out with their sharp-suited aesthetic, driving, atmospheric rock and disaffected tone, painting an ashen picture of a post 9/11 New York with their seminal debut Turn On the Bright Lights.
With their stark guitars and brooding atmosphere, the band have invited comparisons to Joy Division, spurring many to decide they are a true example of post-punk revival, while others feel their melodic hooks and polished grandeur place them just as comfortably within indie rock and alternative rock. Regardless of what genre you wish to classify them in, sometimes nothing beats a bit of melancholy music, and no one does it quite as well as Interpol.
Our love for Interpol at Rough Trade began with Turn On The Bright Lights, a long-standing Rough Trade Essential and firm favourite amongst staff. Back in 2018, we had the pleasure of hosting the band at Rough Trade East, when they played in-store to a sell-out crowd - a much more intimate setting than expected for an acclaimed project of their size six albums in. A few years later in July 2022, we hosted the band again for a special out-store performance at Hackney Church, celebrating The Other Side of Make-Believe. In 2026 we welcome Interpol's eight album This Mirror Weighs a Ton. You won’t find it in the ranking below just yet. A new Interpol record deserves some time to live, breathe and find its place in the world – and in our own listening – before we start making those kinds of decisions.
Rough Trade Denmark Street manager Matt Baghurst knows their vital sound well, having seen the NYC legends play The Other Stage at Glastonbury in 2014 and loved them ever since. With a new album now out in the world, Matt takes on the task of ranking Interpol’s immaculate gloom from great to greatest. Read on to see where your favourite stacks up.
7. Interpol (2010)
Kicking things off, we have Interpol's self-titled release from 2010. While there are some highlights on the album with Lights and the energetic Barricade being a career stand-out, it felt apparent that after 10 years of continuous writing and touring, the band had begun to run out of steam. The lyrical themes also reinforce the physical and mental strain that surrounded the recording of this record, and the internal struggles during its production are evident through a lack of core identity in the songwriting. However, I will say that their later releases have given the album more sonic context and going back to it, it has aged well!
Key track: Summer Well
6. The Other Side of Make-Believe (2022)
A cinematic album with a slower tempo; great tracks like Toni, Gran Hotel and Something Changed show the band's commitment to evolving their sound, and as a whole you can feel what they tried to achieve. The album keeps the same moodiness that is part of the band's DNA whilst attempting to make sense of a world that, at that time, was experiencing a lot of isolation and heightened fear through the pandemic.
As a side note, the remixes from this album are brilliant, with artists including Jeff Parker, Water From Your Eyes and Daniel Avery taking turns to implement their own style on tracks from the album.
Key track: Toni
5. Our Love to Admire (2007)
I’ll probably get some shit for having this a bit further back than the majority of people think, but despite hits like No I In Threesome and The Heinrich Manoeuvre, there were early indications in this album of some staleness to the sound that defined Interpol, with their lack of flexibility in their sound coming to a head with the self-titled album after this. By no means am I saying this is a bad album; I think it’s great. I just think in the history of the band to date, there are more important releases. This does have some of my favourite vocal performances from Paul Banks on it though, basically spitting out lines on Pace Is the Trick.
Key track: Rest My Chemistry
4. El Pintor (2014)
As mentioned previously, before El Pintor the band had gotten into a bit of a sonic rut. Carlos Dengler, their bass player and a big part of the band's identity, left the band once completing the previous album. This left Paul, Daniel and Sam to figure out what the future of the band would look like. Deciding not to replace Dengler, Paul Banks took over bass duties and the change in style brought fresh energy to the band - the songs were given a different energy, sounding more direct and had more groove to them. I’m ranking this higher than Our Love to Admire because without this album and its accomplishment, I’m not entirely sure if the band would exist now. The change in the band's structure meant that they had to evolve, and I think that they rose to the challenge.
Key track: Anywhere
"... I think at the time it was the band at their best in over a decade."
3. Marauder (2018)
This is a really well-crafted album, and it’s also one of their most complete pieces of work. Songs like The Rover and If You Really Love Nothing are dark, urgent and maintain the haunting quality of previous tracks like Not Even Jail and Stella Was A Diver…In fact, I’d say this is the closest album that rivals their first two. The album artwork sets the tone of the record, and lyrically it feels like an interrogation with the purpose of determining the reasons behind self-sabotaging behaviours. Its raw production gives you no room to escape during the heavier moments - I think at the time it was the band at their best in over a decade.
Key track: Stay In Touch
2. Antics (2004)
Whenever I hear a band is releasing a quick follow-up to a successful debut album, I tend to unfairly expect it to be pretty naff because usually a good album needs time. However, Interpol managed to put out a new album 2 years after the first that rivals it in terms of songwriting, lyricism, guitar and bass interplay. It probably only falls down because the first is one of the best in class. Slow Hands, C’mere, Evil - all staples of Interpol’s live shows and for very good reason: they’re great, high-energy tracks that allow the band to create momentum when mixed with the darker tracks from their catalogue, and that’s exactly what they do on this album so well.
Key track: Evil
1. Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
I don’t think anyone will be surprised by this, and I can’t say much more than what has already been said about this album. 4 guys in New York wearing their influences on their sleeve, honing their craft in sweaty rehearsal rooms with soon-to-be-huge bands doing exactly the same thing in the rooms next door (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The National, The Strokes…). This album is, to me, one of the most influential of the century. The opening riff to Obstacle 1, the ending to PDA, the dynamism of The New - this is why people start bands. Sometimes it just clicks and this album is the epitome of that.
Key track: Obstacle 1
Interpol x OBEY
In celebration of the release of This Mirror Weighs A Ton, Interpol share a special tote bag featuring an exclusive design by OBEY founder Shepard Fairey Available only at Rough Trade.
Further Reading
Turn On The Bright Lights: 5 Life Lessons From Interpol's Lyrics
A Rough Guide To: Indie Sleaze
Rough Trade Essential: Rock Albums
Rough Trade Essential: Post-Punk