From the moody opening track, "Untitled", to its mournful end, Turn on the Bright Lights shows Interpol to be a Joy Division for a new decade.

This whole album simply drips with bass. Untitled sags, with every strum from Carlos D.'s fingers, and Obstacle 2 demonstrates the technical proficiency with which each member of the group has mastered their instrument. At every turn, they want this album to shake you physically, and they use amplified bass and jagged, broken guitars to this end.

Lyrically speaking, Paul Banks delivers somber metaphors with a baritone strikingly similar to that of Ian Curtis. Evoking the images of butchers, heavy drinking, and unattainable attraction, listening to this album is like walking through a dark alley in New York City on a foggy evening. There are shadows of experience here, but Banks keeps them shadows; he wants us staring at something that could be not just a story, but a reflection.

For an evening by yourself, or for oddly danceable 80s goth rock, crank up your bass and don't just listen to, but feel Interpol's masterwork of a debut.

Enjoy the horrorshow!

-M