Reviews

Interpol – This Mirror Weighs a Ton

It’s been a tough run for Interpol since the highs of Antics, but their re-energised eighth album marks a glorious shift in fortunes.

Few bands have started out with two albums as uniformly brilliant as Turn On the Bright Lights and Antics, but it is fair to say that Interpol’s subsequent work has been somewhat underwhelming. It felt like the heights they scaled between 2002 and 2004 were simply too high to revisit.

It’s not uncommon for standards to drop once the chemistry of an initial attraction has started to fizzle out. Most successful bands peak creatively when their members are aligned, hungry, and bursting with ideas. The monotonous grind of touring, divergent life goals, and the nagging weight of expectation are all natural enemies of this. Since Antics, Interpol have hopped from label to label, lost a founding member in bassist Carlos Dengler, and essentially exemplified the law of diminishing returns.

Yet, with their unexpectedly strong eighth album, they have managed not only to arrest their decline, but to eclipse anything they’ve released in the last two decades. There is something wonderfully re-energising about This Mirror Weighs a Ton, a record that doesn’t chase the magic of the band’s glory days, but recaptures a generous dose of it anyway.

The talent level in this band has always been beyond question. When I discussed the relentless Joy Division comparisons with drummer Sam Fogarino in 2003, he argued that Paul Banks had already “become more colourful and more dynamic than say, an Ian Curtis or... someone of that effect.” As effectively as the charming Fogarino pitched this, it sounded like a rather bold claim at the time. Not so much now. Banks’ voice has aged extremely well and he sounds fantastic throughout This Mirror Weighs a Ton. His performance on the moody title track is arguably the best of his career.

As for Fogarino, he remains an outstanding drummer—undoubtedly one of the very best in indie rock—and his sophisticated contributions to tracks like “Wings on Fire,” “Ever the Actor” and “Darling Thoughts” inject a rhythmic variety that further elevates Mirror. Daniel Kessler’s atmospheric guitar work is an Interpol signature, but his piano contribution on the beautiful “Iron City” is a notable highlight here. Bassist Brad Truax also deserves a mention; his interplay with Fogarino is excellent throughout, but his rumbling bass line on “Wounded Soldier” provides the song with its marching pulse.

After five uneven records, I find myself questioning This Mirror Weighs a Ton. Is it truly impressive—or is it just better than what came before? And is the narrative of a late career return to form more enticing than Mirror’s actual contents? Having sat with it a little longer than I usually would, my fondness for this superb album has only grown. It’s no Bright Lights or Antics, but I am confident in declaring it Interpol’s third best.

This Mirror Weighs a Ton is out now via Partisan.