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| Interpol: Percussionist Sam Fogarino, Vocalist/Guitarist Paul Banks, Guitarist/Backup Vocalist Daniel Kessler |
I'm not familiar with this band, but I heard this song on KROQ yesterday and I thought I would look into it because one of the radio presenters raved about Interpol! So I looked them up and apparently they're a band from New York City that formed in 1997. I was kind of sold after that because the 90's had some great prog/experimental rock.
Interpol was in the same 90's indie music scene as bands like The Strokes and The Nationals. They're also most frequently compared with Joy Division and The Chameleons because of their post-punk sound that blends staccato bass with rhythmic guitar. So far, Interpol has released five studio albums with their most recent one released earlier this month called El Pintor. El Pintor is an anagram for Interpol. Pretty cool, huh?
Maybe I'm just easily impressed.
Anyway, "All The Rage Back Home" is actually quite good. It reminds me of a tame version of the Foo Fighters for some reason. Or Kings of Leon on a light acid trip. There's something flighty in the shifting guitar melody that never really settles in one place long enough for you to enjoy it. The flow-y, flighty guitar really reminds me of Kings of Leon circa Come Around Sundown. I find myself trying to catch up to this relatively slow song, partially also because of the singing that reverbs and echoes all over the place. Speaking of the singing, Paul Banks' almost Gregorian chant murmuring in the verses fascinate me. Then, in the chorus he sounds like Gavin Rossdale from Bush! Melodically, this song is eerie in the verses, just because the guitar is so free and leaning toward happy major, while the singing is monotonous and droning. The percussion is simple to supplement the intricate guitar.
Now, the question I had when I first listened to this song was: What is 'all the rage back home?' In my opinion, the answer is love. The narrator of this song is just not having very good luck with his lady friend. He can't satisfy her or himself. He keeps telling himself that he's in love, when really, it's just what everyone expects from him. Love is 'all the rage back home,' meaning it's the popular sentiment of the day. In my head, I envision him as an asexual trying to find love because everyone tells him that's what he's supposed to do. In reality, he doesn't want any of it. In the chorus, his significant other tells him, "you don't need time." She's reluctant of giving him a break. At the same time, he tells her "be tame," "my faith won't lie." He wants her to trust him that he loves her without having to prove it sexually. Meanwhile, another man comes along telling her "you don't need mine (the narrator)," trying to convince her that she doesn't need the protagonist.
It's one of those cases where the answer, love, really isn't the answer. This song is so weirdly complicated in an inverted way, but I like it.
Enjoy listening to it below!
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Photo: pitchfork.com
Information: Wikipedia, rock.genius.com
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