FINALLY! An Interpol record that doesn't suck! Shit, this isn't Interpol? That explains that little mystery.
Of course this isn't Interpol. I know that. But the fact remains that if you felt a compulsion to lump like-sounding bands together (like I do), then you'd automatically hear at least some passing resemblance to a certain NYC hipster band that never quite lived up to the hype (though I do like a handful of their songs). 80S-esque, hard to touch, electronica-rock is all the rage these days, and not every band does it well. How does Protracted Name...err, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness fair with Fear Is On Our Side?
Really, the music is more in the vein of instrumental post-rock, with just a touch of electronica to fill out the sound, but when paired with the vocals, it takes on an entirely different form. That said, I guess just throwing them in the ring with bands like Interpol and She Wants Revenge out of hand isn't fair or even accurate. Still, the tone does evoke similar feelings in the listener. Fear Is On Our Side is, melodically, very sparse, occasionally verging on the bounds of minimalist (though nothing even approaching Glassian proportions). It leaves one touched with melancholy as opposed to more abject feelings of despair. It works, and quite well, at that, but I did find myself reaching instinctively for the 'next' button from time to time, as the songs began to run on for far too long and even coalesce from track to track. The cliche about variety being the spice of life should be taken to heart by I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, otherwise they'll get old and tired before their time. Really, I find myself gravitating towards the shorter songs on the album as being among my favorites, most notably “The Owl” and the heart thumping “Fear Is On Our Side”.
Vocally, it's as distant as the music. Everything is conveyed in hushed tones, not unlike some of the more honored bands that surely influenced I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness. The problem for me is that I can't always make out what is being uttered in such a fragile, rhythmic fashion. It does sound quite pretty, I can say that much, but any time that I have to constantly refer back to lyrics sheets to understand what's going on, I'm left with a distinctly sour taste in my mouth – and I'm someone who avidly listens to the oft-indecipherable genres of hardcore and metalcore. Even still, there is a very loving quality to the harmonies.
All in all, not a bad experience. I could see myself throwing this into a playlist with things like Mogwai, Sigur Ros, American Football, Red Stars Theory and some Radiohead. Sadly, I can't rate it very high taken on it's own, it's a mood piece, as far as I'm concerned, and one that plays it's part well enough. The pacing of the album lends to an almost hum-drum experience, as low-tempo songs give way to more low-tempo songs, and when tracks already feel overly long, layering them in such a way just exacerbates the problem. Here's hoping that next time, they give us something with a little more oomph.
