Marauder

Interpol - Marauder
Critic Score
Based on 37 reviews
2018 Ratings: #568 / 890
User Score
Based on 557 ratings
2018 Rank: #600
Liked by 27 people
August 24, 2018 / Release Date
LP / Format
Matador / Label
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Drowned in Sound

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.

90
The Sydney Morning Herald

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.

80
XS Noize
“Marauder” displays why Interpol has cast a long shadow on the NYC music scene and the music world in general. Theirs is a special brand of brooding Indie rock that is able to utilize new sonic approaches that keep things fresh.
80
Evening Standard
One of the loudest things about Interpol previously has been their silence in addressing both the past and the personal, with cool detachment often prevailing thematically. What is perhaps most surprising about Marauder then is just how much the band have embraced both, as on It Probably Matters and Party’s Over.
80
Q Magazine

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.

80
Northern Transmissions

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.

80
The Independent
They’re reinvigorated, brimming with energy and self-assurance.
80
Mojo

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.

80
The Guardian
It’s the sound of a band who have done the last thing you might expect them to do at this stage of their career: start moving on.
80
Clash
Raw but refined, familiar but resolutely strange, ‘Marauder’ seizes that fine balance of retaining the old while introducing the new; the sound of a band at ease with themselves, it could well be Interpol’s finest album in a decade.
80
Slant Magazine

Interpol's sixth studio album, Marauder, crackles with the energy of embracing life's unpredictable turns.

80
The Line of Best Fit

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.

80
musicOMH

An album has been produced that sounds like a band heading down new avenues with a confident swagger and a emboldened sense of purpose.

80
DIY
Taking themselves back to the mindset of their heady early days on ‘Marauder’ serves them well - their sixth LP is a return to form that sees the trio overcome their mid-career slump.
80
AllMusic

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.

80
NME
The NYC trio sixth album is a bold and artful evolution, though it's so claustrophobic you may long for a sense of release.
75
Louder Than War
After periods of reflection, recklessness and regret, New York’s coolest purveyors of glacial pop finally begin looking forward. The result? Their most urgent and relevant record for over a decade.
75
A.V. Club

Fans should be pleased to hear that Marauder shifts the group’s focus while still remaining recognizably Interpol.

70
Loud and Quiet
‘Marauder’ twists and turns and not all of the myriad ideas it throws at the proverbial wall end up sticking, but when they do, they suggest there’s plenty left in the tank. In that respect, mission accomplished.
70
Albumism

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.

70
No Ripcord

Marauder is a solid record with several decent tracks that will make it a welcome addition to the group's discography.

70
FLOOD Magazine
Interpol still makes artful rock and roll with an unmistakably tenebrous undertone, but at this point they don’t have many ideological peers, as their once zeitgeist-appropriate brand of gothic rock now seems imbued with distinctly nostalgic overtones.
67
Consequence of Sound

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.

66
Sputnikmusic
The songs have the standard Interpol quality, still, the highlights aren’t up there with the classic ones. It becomes better after a few listens, yet there’s some unexploited potential here I believe only hardcore fans will truly enjoy it.
65
Spectrum Culture

There are indications of Interpol attempting something ambitious on Marauder, even as the resulting album is something far safer than one anticipated.

61
Pitchfork

Marauder is the least-bad Interpol album in more than a decade, but that still doesn’t make it great.

60
The Observer

Marauder certainly starts strongly ... but elsewhere the quality is more variable.

60
Dork
‘Marauder’ doesn’t have its own identity, but it does feel like Interpol are back on the right track. It’s helped them recapture their sense of detached fun, like wearing your sharpest suit to the dingiest bar. Unoriginal? Probably. But does it make a scene when it turns up? Definitely.
60
Uncut
The result is neither an especially loud or revelatory one.
60
The Arts Desk
In striving for a less “produced” album, Interpol have succeeded and, although this means the weaker songs sound overly dreary and similar, it only makes the stronger songs sound refreshingly urgent and raw.
60
PopMatters
It is, once again, the sound of a band coming within scraping distance of their potential.
60
The Skinny

What Marauder provides is a top-up of Interpol for the band’s most dedicated fans, but nothing that approaches their former glory.

55
Under the Radar

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.

50
Crack Magazine

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.

50
Rolling Stone

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.

50
Exclaim!
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.
40
The Needle Drop

Marauder offers little more than a washed-out version of post-Bright Lights Interpol

maxim_lite
89

Dont listen to the critics, it's great

Plats
75

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

Aydn
NR

This is the equivalent of season 9 of the office

reconsider
50

They shared the same faith as Coldplay - had a very promising start, but then spiraled down into mediocrity.

deezies
80

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

Eiffyx
67

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

Purchasing Marauder from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1If You Really Love Nothing
4:25
80
2The Rover
3:37
83
3Complications
3:54
68
4Flight of Fancy
3:51
78
5Stay In Touch
4:53
75
6Interlude 1
1:01
64
7Mountain Child
3:08
67
8Nysmaw
3:16
72
9Surveillance
4:13
71
10Number 10
3:12
73
11Party's Over
3:39
65
12Interlude 2
1:03
62
13It Probably Matters
4:07
69
Total Length: 44 minutes

Year End Lists

#11/Q Magazine
#14/Albumism
#21/Rough Trade
#33/Fopp
#39/The Independent
#44/Uproxx
#46/BLARE
#100/NME
Comments (2)
Sign in to comment
3mo


Added on: June 7, 2018