Interpol's latest album is easily one of their most varied. Lots of strings, piano, and horns bring a new dynamic to the band's sound. But the songwriting has suffered a bit as a result. Many of the tracks follow a linear model, building up instrumentation instead of changing it up between versus and choruses. Trying new things is grand, but I kinda just need Interpol to write me a bangin' rock song. That does happen in a couple spots of the album, though. "Barricade" is undeniably catchy, and "Summer Well" is a good mix of Interpol's hook-writing magic and the added instrumentation. But most of these tracks are too underwhelming and repetitive to keep me interested. This album isn't offensively bad, but I'm not really in love with it either.
