100 Best Albums of the 2000s: Interpol, 'Turn on the Bright Lights'

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Interpol, 'Turn on the Bright Lights'

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These dapper New Yorkers may have been the first band in history cocky enough to name the first song on their debut album "Untitled" — and that barely begins to hint at their mind-boggling pretensions. ("Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down," for fuck's sake.) Yet they crafted one of the decade's great guitar epics, demanding rapt attention for 49 expertly paced minutes of arty post-punk melodrama. From gothed-out power-drone ballads like "Hands Away" to the hard-charging Rock Band fave "PDA," Interpol capture the moment on a late-night city street when the crowd suddenly vanishes and loneliness stares you in the face.

Related:
• Rolling Stone's Original 2002 Review

• Video: Interpol Perform Their Grim Ballad 'Lights' on 'Conan'

• Q&A With Interpol Frontman Paul Banks