Marauder
A gritty, blown-out post-punk record recorded straight to tape. Interpol trades their signature icy precision for raw, red-lined analog urgency.
A gritty, blown-out post-punk record recorded straight to tape. Interpol trades their signature icy precision for raw, red-lined analog urgency.
Abrasive reinvention
Gravelly basslines and red-lined drums crash through a humid, analog haze. Recorded straight to tape, these songs trade clinical precision for a sweaty, basement-show urgency. You can feel the tape hiss vibrating against the jagged guitar riffs, catching a band letting their sharp edges fray into something thrillingly chaotic and alive.
By pushing the levels into a heavily compressed loud master, the band trades their signature pristine separation for a blown-out, analog warmth that feels dangerously close to redlining.
Critics generally welcomed the album as a spirited, artistic step forward, appreciating the band's confident willingness to venture outside of their usual style. While some felt the record's dense, restless atmosphere sometimes lacked a sense of release, most agreed that this energetic outing represents a purposeful and wiser evolution.
“Relaxed if variable post-punk stylings”Read review
“Interpol are far past the point of trying to recapture their glory days, but even their attempts to change things up come off as a mixed bag. Prospective fans and diehards alike are better off starting at the beginning”Read review
“A bold and artful evolution, though it’s so claustrophobic you may long for a sense of release”Read review
“It’s doubtful Marauder will win Interpol any new fans and may even leave existing fans somewhat disappointed, but if you work at it, you can find some redeeming qualities since a sub-par Interpol is still better than most”Read review
“Interpol sound best when they step far outside of their wheelhouse”Read review
“Even when Interpol tries to change up the formula, they can’t help but sound like themselves on Marauder”Read review
“The least-bad Interpol album in more than a decade, but that still doesn’t make it great”Read review
“A few highlights and some unexploited potential”Read review
“Their most experimental to date, blending everything from rough garage rock to Motown rhythms. They’re reinvigorated, brimming with energy and self-assurance”Read review
“Poor production and mixing choices detract from an otherwise emotionally intense album”Read review
“Marauder doesn’t need to be qualified in terms of the band’s former successes -- on its own terms, it’s one of the richest albums of Interpol’s career”Read review
“The sound of a band at ease with themselves, it could well be Interpol’s finest album in a decade”Read review
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