The new EP from Interpol, A Fine Mess, out on Friday via Matador, is a reminder of the power of this band. It's also a fairly nuanced offering, one that blends the New York trio's familiar sharper passages with more melodic ones.
While the title cut of A Fine Mess is all rough edges and jarring hooks, "No Big Deal" is decidedly stretched out, languid guitar-lines fighting it out slowly with the popping drums. Elsewhere, "Real Life" is more urgent, the riffs here pointing this thing towards the sun, while "The Weekend" sees the rhythm section launching into overdrive, the bass and drums here the elements that give this song such power. The music of Interpol has evolved in the last decade or so, such that the band's influences seem to finally include bands besides Joy Division. And the result of that evolution is the presence of stuff here that reveals nods to Gang of Four and even Eighties-era King Crimson.
A Fine Mess will be out on Friday via Matador Records.
More details on Interpol via the band's official Facebook page, or their official website. The band's set to open for Morrissey on tour later this year so keep an eye on that, especially if Moz does something racist again, or ends up cancelling tour dates as he's wont to do.
[Photo: Uncredited promotional picture]