![]() There are a few clunkers: ‘Unwind’ sounds like the Lightning Seeds trapped in a tumble dryer, and ‘Girl On The Sporting News’ has its pretty circular motions undone by an absolute shocker of a lyric (“Fill the minutes up and talk about that glorious season”, et cetera), but often the risks taken pay off. Of the softer songs, ‘Skyscraper’ is most impressive, a string-led mood piece filled with dread and unease, although ‘No Chance Survival’, a delicately melodic, jazzy number, and ‘On The Esplanade’, a nice dream-logic acoustic lullaby, run it mighty close. On the loud, expansive side, the melodic distortion of ‘Only If You Run’ sounds like a human Gary Numan, and ‘Games For Days’ begins with Nine Inch Nails-style industrial drum beats then flourishes out into a chorus which could almost be by Girls Aloud, and ends with Banks simply repeating “this is amazing”. Sure, the stately rhythms, angular guitars and of course his weirdly reedy-yet-sonorous voice remain, but Banks adds beats, synths and strings into the mix for a sound which is never less than compelling. Yet this is something of a pleasant surprise, as it’s neither a cringeworthy theatrical reinvention nor a simple rehash of his main band’s music. That works perfectly for Interpol of course, providing a blank screen for their shadowy songs, but frankly, the idea of Banks going solo isn’t exactly something to get your knickers in a twist about. Julian Plenti is the alter-ego of Paul Banks from Interpol, though actually it’s not much of an ‘alter’, since he’s as anonymous a frontman as you’ll ever see. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |