Hi everyone, Theftthony Fantano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Interpol album, This Mirror Weighs a Ton.

Yes, a brand-new record from New York post-punk revival legends Interpol. When it comes to the NYC rock renaissance of the 2000s, few bands' names ring louder than Interpol's, but as great and as classic as records like Antics and Turn On The Bright Lights have proven to be over the years, sadly Interpol's cross to bear has never quite been able to live up to the status of those records.

Of course, the 2010s were handily the roughest and most dismal portion of the band's discography, with some pretty big lineup changes, and a run of albums that if they were appealing to some kind of core, die-hard fanbase, you wouldn't know it. The discourse around these albums was often overshadowed by loud feelings of disappointment and just a general sense that the band has kind of lost its touch to one degree or another.

Even 2018's Marauder left me so bored that I barely dove into the album The Other Side of Make-Believe several years later, and I don't know, it didn't seem like I was missing too much anyway. Four more years down the road, though, and we are now here at This Mirror Weighs a Ton, and honestly, the teasers to this record piqued my interest more than I had expected.

For one, "See Out Loud" felt like more of a kick to the teeth than the highlights on other recent albums: a very driving, groovy post-punk number with trademark Interpol vibes, a very heavy mix, and I would say Paul Banks' vocals aging like fine wine, as he is sounding more confident and laser-sharp than ever. Plus, we also have some additional vocals from Daniel Kessler on this track that actually provide a really nice contrast.

We also had "Iron City," which might succumb a little bit to the atmosphere surrounding the instrumental in the mix just a bit, but still, this track does feature a genuinely haunting chorus, a clubby drumbeat, and glockenspiel combo that makes for one of the prettiest and most infectious instrumentals on the entire record. And then we had the title track, too, which, given its very slow pacing, is kind of a tough sell for a teaser, but I would say very solid as a wavy, enchanting opener, loaded with a lot of airy, subtle textures, some acoustic ones, too. The whole track's like staring at a city skyline through a heavy mist, and maybe feels more akin to something that The National would do aesthetically in recent years.

Though, full disclosure, personally, I'm not really a National guy, and the difference for me here may just be sort of the clarity of the mix on this track, and not to mention that I just find Paul Banks to be an infinitely more compelling and emotive vocalist. So I don't know; if it works, it works. So yeah, with all these teasers, Interpol essentially spoiled the whole first leg of this record, but the track list that follows is surprisingly great and versatile.

"Wounded Soldier" is another one that I love, and believe it or not, the reference point that kind of comes to mind on this one is Kraftwerk, with the rigid drums and bassline and moody chord progressions feeling like something that was lifted from their Radio-Activity era, but here instead embodied in glamorous and pristine rock instrumentation.

Then "Wings on Fire" brings even more punch to the table than "See Out Loud" did, with a fiery edge-of-your-seat progression and ending, and even slower burns on this record, like "Ever the Actor," reach these immense and instrumentally dense highs that are simultaneously cathartic and eerie, like this kind of thickness and texture you just weren't getting on the band's early work, where their instrumentation and performances were so much more spry and raw. And while that element of Interpol, I think, is most definitely long gone at this point, gorgeous and lavish touches like these string sections at the end of this track are a fitting replacement.

Not to mention the band's age and experience at this point, as well as the heavy weight of the world, which I think is very much felt on this record, have allowed them to plug into these intensely dismal and forlorn feelings. The final leg on this thing is a little all over the map, but I think the band still sticks the landing. "Darling Thoughts" has a very straightforward post-punk sound that reminds me a bit of the Antics era, but with some psychedelic synth touches.

It's not my favorite song here, but the rhythm section is great. And that element is even better on the following "Wake Up," whose backbone is pretty much a combination of the sharp, urgent disco beats and hand drums, presented with these really harsh, grim, and stark colors. It's like if you were trying to write an Interpol song off of, like, an old groove from an ESG record, and yet it still somehow worked, even as the band flows into these really kind of gloomy and dreamy part B's.

Then "Enemy" is a piano number, but has some of the most striking lyrics on the record, with Paul Banks going through all of these descriptions of a very close relationship, one that's close for better or for worse, and then stating in the refrain, "that's my enemy," and in such a chilling fashion. Even going as far as to promise that he'll be dancing on this person's grave. The track has a pretty strong finish too, with some ambient drums and string arrangements.

"Bird and the Serpent" though, to my ears, has to be the weakest moment on this record, mostly because it feels like the rhythm section is so much less together than it is on every other part of this album, as the drums and bass and rhythm guitars feel so much more mashed together, like they didn't want to hammer out what portions of the groove they would all be emphasizing, and instead are kind of all muddled.

But at least after this we do get a heart-wrenching closer with "Sudden," which is kind of like an extended motif of sorts, with a lot of enchanting, repetitive lyrics, a very still progression, reversed effects, chilling tones, the piano coming back around as well with some heavenly organs. It's a very bittersweet and spacey moment to end off on, and fitting for a band who is as notoriously dark and as despondent as Interpol, but still has the capacity to write these cathartic anthems too. And we get that whole range on this new record, plus a boatload of other awesome textures and layers, and a certain level of refinement as well that I think only comes with age.

But yeah, even if there were some tracks on this thing that were a little bit too predictable, or maybe didn't quite pan out, this is still like the best showing the band has had in terms of song quality, and in terms of performance and production quality too, in years. Which is why I'm feeling a strong 7 to a light 8 on this one.

Anthony Fantano, Interpol, forever.