13. El Pintor / Interpol

Turn on the Bright Lights was a monumental record that most turn-of-the-century hipsters embraced, its icy guitars and joyless vocals a nod to Joy Division, Echo & The Bunnymen, and nocturnal Dark Wave that spills into the darkest corners of late-night Manhattan.  The guitars of "Untitled" are still enthralling, and then "Obstacle 1" jolts alive with electricity, creating one of The D Man's favorite album-opening combinations.  In hindsight, the band’s signature sound is more wholly their own than they are given credit for, regardless of the obvious influences.

Antics was an excellent follow-up, which resulted in large crowds during the early 2000s and opening slots with The Cure and U2.  The band’s grip on its aesthetic loosened, unfortunately, and their next two albums were met with a discernible lack of interest.  Bassist Carlos D—with his famous comb-over intact—left the band and a much-needed hiatus was taken. Four years, to be exact.

The band’s fifth album, El Pintor, feels reinvigorated, a notion that lead vocalist and songwriter Paul Banks has discussed.  "As a kind of compound, we were a four-atom molecule [with Carlos D] before and now we're a three-atom molecule. The chemical structure of a three-atom molecule doesn't mean it's weaker. It could be a stronger compound or a more radioactive compound. So I feel like we're a new animal, and I think that makes this record pretty exciting."  A little esoteric, perhaps, but you get the point.

Not surprisingly, the formula hasn't changed much, and there is little escaping the band's somewhat narrow sonic spectrum.  But there is no denying that Daniel Kessler's guitar playing is impressively intricate, and Interpol actually sound bigger than they ever have, a three-piece be damned.  The songs rock hard, and are even grand in parts, as experienced during an incredibly hypnotic performance of the awesome track "My Desire" at their recent show.

A couple of weeks ago, during heavy snows outside of Buffalo, the band was marooned on the road for more than fifty hours in their tour bus.  So The D Man could say that, in the search for a nice closing line, Paul Banks and his mates were finally met with something as cold and forceful as their gleaming guitar squalls.