We love our grown-up Interpol, still kings of cool – and Marauder shows that despite a return to a more classic sound, the band can still show up with a sound a little new.
Long-time fans will feel right at home with Marauder, and newcomers will find a beguiling, intriguing entry point into Interpol's excellent back catalogue.
Marauder is not the sound of a group chasing lost sounds or long ago glories, rather it is a band detaching itself from its past, from a time that has long defined them; it is the sound of growing older, closer and more open.
As time has gone on, you might expect a band like Interpol to get set in their ways, but that’s just not the case on Marauder. Taking their classic guitar-rock in new directions, the New York City powerhouse band pushes the limits of what they can do while still staying accessible.
They know their limits, and while they are prepared to test them, gently, Marauder isn't in the market for revelation. With songs this subtle and steely, though, reinforcement is good enough.
Interpol's sixth studio album, Marauder, crackles with the energy of embracing life's unpredictable turns.
Their sound is designed to deflate, to alienate, to offer no resolution, to poke and prod at your most depressive tendencies – you could even argue that there are moments where they purposefully try to bore you. If it’s this that you’re after, and no more, then prepare to be pleasantly surprised by Marauder. If you’re just waiting to catalogue it, to see how it stacks up against Turn on the Bright Lights, don’t bother. You’ll only disappoint yourself.
An album has been produced that sounds like a band heading down new avenues with a confident swagger and a emboldened sense of purpose.
For Interpol, embracing their veteran status doesn't mean a slide into complacency; if anything, it's the opposite. 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.
Fans should be pleased to hear that Marauder shifts the group’s focus while still remaining recognizably Interpol.
Someday Marauder will probably matter, but it’ll be for the glimmers that suggest all is not lost. And so, I await album number seven from this capable band while conceding these last two have certainly tempered my expectations toward anything new.
Marauder is a solid record with several decent tracks that will make it a welcome addition to the group's discography.
Marauder is still Interpol, and it’s still pretty good. It’s got mood and emotion for days. But because the album is marred by nonexistent bass lines and, most concerningly, production and mixing choices that run completely at odds with Interpol’s natural strengths and most beloved idiosyncrasies, it’s nowhere near great.
There are indications of Interpol attempting something ambitious on Marauder, even as the resulting album is something far safer than one anticipated.
Marauder is the least-bad Interpol album in more than a decade, but that still doesn’t make it great.
Marauder certainly starts strongly ... but elsewhere the quality is more variable.
What Marauder provides is a top-up of Interpol for the band’s most dedicated fans, but nothing that approaches their former glory.
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.
Marauder is a mixed bag. A tick-box of Interpol’s best bits, with none of the magic of their heyday. And for a record named after – and supposedly about – a rampaging inner demon, it just feels so very safe.
It’s been 16 years since Interpol released their celebrated debut, Turn on the Bright Lights, and judging from their latest record, it seems a few of those lights may need replacing.
Marauder offers little more than a washed-out version of post-Bright Lights Interpol
Interpol’s latest project has some solid instrumentation and there’s a quite a few highlights. Though it does feel like your standard indie record.
Fav Tracks: If You Really Love Nothing, Number 10, The Rover, Flight Of Fancy, Surveillance, Mountain Child, It Probably Matters
Least Fav Track: Party’s Over
Score:
7.5
Very Good
They shared the same faith as Coldplay - had a very promising start, but then spiraled down into mediocrity.
TYSM FOR 50 FOLLOWERS <3 (more on that later in the review)
what went wrong with tosomb i will never know...
this album is really good
which i wasnt expecting
i thought that it was gonna be boring and lame, which would explain the failure that was tosomb, but that's not what happened at all
marauder sees interpol continue their regained post-punk sound, but with more ambition, with the record having a lot more meaning than el pintor
paul banks takes on the character of marauder, a ... read more
bad second half so the asbul as a whole is really hurting my rating
Favs : The Rover, Stay In Touch, Mountain Child
Worsts: Complications, Surveillance
1 | If You Really Love Nothing 4:25 | 80 |
2 | The Rover 3:37 | 83 |
3 | Complications 3:54 | 68 |
4 | Flight of Fancy 3:51 | 78 |
5 | Stay In Touch 4:53 | 75 |
6 | Interlude 1 1:01 | 64 |
7 | Mountain Child 3:08 | 67 |
8 | Nysmaw 3:16 | 72 |
9 | Surveillance 4:13 | 71 |
10 | Number 10 3:12 | 73 |
11 | Party's Over 3:39 | 65 |
12 | Interlude 2 1:03 | 62 |
13 | It Probably Matters 4:07 | 69 |
#11 | / | Q Magazine |
#14 | / | Albumism |
#21 | / | Rough Trade |
#33 | / | Fopp |
#39 | / | The Independent |
#44 | / | Uproxx |
#46 | / | BLARE |
#100 | / | NME |