Our Love to Admire
by Interpol
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Album details
US: 10 July 2007 on Capitol
UK: 9 July 2007 on Parlophone
The New York band’s third album is their first for a major label, and their first using an outside producer (Rich Costey).
The critical consensus
After two strong-but-similar, distinctive-but-derivative albums, we (and many critics) were expecting more of the same, only more so, for album number three. Naturally, the critics spent a great deal of space discussing how much or how little ‘Admire’ differs from its predecessors, with the consensus indicating that the band has gotten better at creating the same old Interpol sound–in some cases, drastically better.
EW, for one, does hear something new in Interpol’s third outing: "Instead of falling back on the repetitive thrumming and jangling of their previous recordings, they’ve crowded Our Love to Admire with unexpected rhythmic feints … and Arcade Fire-like orchestrations … that stymie any attempt at casual listening." In a glowing review, MusicOMH also finds some light penetrating Interpol’s typical dark world, if only for a moment. The Observer hears "a polished, muscular-sounding record that teems with life and bristling potency," while Billboard finds an "evolved sound" leading to "more complex soundscapes." And Uncut says the major-label move brought a bigger, arena-ready sound, concluding, "this is truly navel-gazing taken to giant proportions."
Save for the final two tracks, Drowned In Sound finds the disc "interchangeable" with the first two albums, but makes it clear that sameness is not a drawback: "Interpol have raised the bar once again." Hot Press agrees, calling it "another hugely impressive album" even though it "doesn’t deviate hugely from the established Interpol template." The BBC holds to the "more of the same" line, at the same time saying that "this band have gotten better - they’re tighter than a laser-guided smart bomb." Drawer B boils it down to this: "The band simply knows how to write better songs."
Spin, however, says that "Admire feels oddly reined in, a transitional record." While Paste hears "moments of true inspiration" but also others that "sound a little too familiar to the knowing ear," All Music Guide finds the disc only half-appealing, adding: "When Our Love to Admire falters — and it falters a fair amount of the time — it’s because Interpol’s attention to atmosphere and detail outpaces the songwriting." At least they heard the band trying to expand their sound; The Guardian not only finds that "virtually everything present on their previous albums is in evidence here," but that it also makes for a poor listening experience: "At its worst, the combination of po-faced bluster, stadium rock cliches and all that echo conspires to make the album sound not epic, but empty." Tiny Mix Tapes likes just 3 of the 11 tracks, while The Independent adds unfavorable comparisons to Editors and Embrace. Stylus simply calls it "terrible," the Washington Post a "depressing slog," and PopMatters "the perfect soundtrack for an eighth grade dance."
As with so many classic albums, it’s apparent from Love’s first notes that something transcendent and fiercely magical is about to unfold.
-Alternative Press
Review roundup
- Alternative Press [Aug 2007, p.162], 4.5/5
- Artist Direct, 4.5/5
- Drowned In Sound, 9/10
- MusicOMH, 5/5
- Playlouder, 5/5
- Amazon.com
- BBC
- Billboard [14 Jul 2007]
- Chart Attack
- Delusions of Adequacy
- Drawer B
- Gigwise, 4/5
- Entertainment Weekly, A-
- Harp
- Hot Press, 8.5/10
- IGN, 7.4/10
- Los Angeles Times, 3/4
- Lost At Sea, 6.9/10
- Metromix, 4/5
- Mojo [Aug 2007, p.100], 4/5
- NME, 8/10
- No Ripcord, 7/10
- Now Magazine, 4/5
- Observer Music Monthly, 4/5
- The Onion AV Club, B
- Paste, 3.5/5
- The Phoenix, 3/4
- Prefix, 6.5/10
- Q [Aug 2007, p.84], 4/5
- Sputnik, 3/5
- Treble
- Uncut [Aug 2007, p.86], 4/5
- Under The Radar [#18, p.80], 7/10
- Urb [Jul/Aug 2007, p.92], 4/5
- Village Voice
- All Music Guide, 3/5
- Austin Chronicle, 2/5
- Aversion, 3/5
- Blender [Aug 2007, p.114], 3/5
- Boston Globe
- CokemachineGlow, 54%
- Crawdaddy
- Dotmusic, 6/10
- Dusted
- Glide Magazine, 2.5/5
- The Guardian, 3/5
- Junkmedia, 3/5
- Kevchino, 6/10
- Pitchfork, 6.0/10
- Rolling Stone, 3/5
- San Francisco Chronicle, 2/4
- Spin [Jul 2007, p.92], 3/5
- Glorious Noise
- The Independent, 2/5
- PopMatters, 4/10
- Stylus, D
- Tiny Mix Tapes, 1.5/5
- Washington Post
Tracklisting and media
- Pioneer To the Falls
- No I In Threesome
- The Scale
- The Heinrich Maneuver
- Mammoth
- Pace Is the Trick
- All Fired Up
- Rest My Chemistry
- Who Do You Think
- Wrecking Ball
- The Lighthouse
Hi, This is a great album and one of the best I’ve heard this year. I’ve seen several more excellent reviews for this album in the UK, including Uncut - 4/5, Q - 4/5 and Mojo - 4/5; the three biggest and most credible mags in the UK. As for the Tiny Mix Tapes review posted above (probably one of the least credible music critics I’ve come across), I’d be suprised if the reviewer had actually listened to the album more than once!
Im an Interpol fan so of course im gonna like this album but be advised so. This album represents what interpol wants to sound like in there musical attempts. They are doing a good job of not sounding radio rockish and its not on purpose but rather however they make up their songs. There are catchy stuff on this album as well but its put out in a way that makes the listener become familiar with an already existing gloom type rock. What sets this album apart is the bands instrumental creative agenda meets Paul Bank’s vision as a vocalist. The song “Pioneer to the falls” probably represents overall their sound catagorized sweet spot. “The Lighthouse” is a good example of Interpol vocal vision. The album lacks what the previous albums had in favor as far as upbeat faster catchy songs, (songs like ‘Who do you think’ and ‘Heinrich Maneuver’ showing their -I wanna dance- side) but songs like “Wrecking ball” is pure gloom brilliance to the average B-side listener. This third album is their greatest yet in my opinion.