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Critic Reviews
95
Though Turn on the Bright Lights was the best album of 2002, I’ll not hesitate to say that, barring some otherworldly competition, Antics looks to be the best album of 2004.
11y
91
The album feels confident and spacious where Bright Lights felt claustrophobic.
12y
90
Interpol have produced a soaring, inventive album that, while incorporating the deliciously dark atmosphere of Turn On The Bright Lights, merely uses it as a base to create more ambitious, warmer soundscapes.
15y
85
Though Interpol couldn't be expected to surpass their previous heights, it's difficult to imagine a savvier or more satisfying second step.
15y
83
There are enough new wrinkles in the quartet’s tailored suits to keep things from getting too redundant.
10y
80
Always an urgent album at its best ... Antics manages to harness a frazzled nervous system with a fearless soul. It's unfortunate tendency to admire its own reflection may prevent it from proving truly great. But with Paul Banks in such fine, emotive voice, even this flaw proves forgivable.
2mo
80
On Antics, the tumultuously conceived follow-up, Interpol do not, thankfully, compromise their approach in the face of acclaim and popularity.
6y
80
This is cut to perfection: exhilarating, morbid, romantic, cool.
10y
80
Manages to dabble with tension and still emerge with something life-affirming.
10y
80
Antics achieves a tunefulness that warms and broadens Interpol's music, and helps them establish an identity distinct from their dolorous influences.
11y
80
While this is ultimately a more sophisticated record, it's probably a less obvious one, too.
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2y
80
An album scored through with a vehement beauty that, with each listen, becomes all the more acute for its unwillingness to shy away from life's bleaker, more painful moments.
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9y
80
The truth ... is that they will never make a record as special as the debut. However, following it with one that is merely very good is no crime.
15y
70
The band still has more than enough life and brilliance, but it's their choice whether or not to grasp onto this light and jump into the musical unknown.
5y
60
These songs feel heavy and significant enough—due to dynamic production and hooky choruses—even if we don’t know exactly what they mean.
10y
60
Annoyingly, the high marks are all too infrequent.
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2y
60
Though the CD ends on a high, this is an album to play on random mode, or the predictability of it all will soon condemn the CD to a dusty space on the 'occasional' rack.
6y
60
It's basically an album that will attract more fans for the band on a commercial level, but won't do much to retain the older fans who appreciated their darker material.
15y
The second album is said to be the most difficult in an artist's career.
This is certainly true when the debut was that of Interpol and the wait for the second chapter becomes a very delicate issue.
After their first success, in my opinion, Interpol had two viable paths to elevate themselves, without prejudice to the emotional tension of their style: raise the level of composition or take a more experimental path with sound... in fact they chose a third path and that is, to simplify ... read more
Second go at Interpol, this time their sophomore... it's brilliant.
While 'Turn On The Bright Lights' offered us a more atmospheric and slower version of their sound, 'Antics' on the other hand shows us the more 'relaxed' version of Interpol.
The production on this one is a little bit better than on their debut, it's extremely consistent, and none of the tracks felt repetitive. This is the kind of album I would expect to play in a dim lit bar at 2 AM, ... read more
hard to talk about this album without comparisons to TOTBL, but I’ll try. it’s clearer, more expansive and more melodic. the claustrophobic atmosphere is replaced by a more spacious, more human approach. the tenderness and vulnerability persists through its more melodic aspects. grander and more approachable, but it’s still a very heavy and draining emotional experience.
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Track List
| 1 | Next Exit 3:20 | 82 |
| 2 | Evil 3:35 | 94 |
| 3 | Narc 4:07 | 90 |
| 4 | Take You On a Cruise 4:54 | 88 |
| 5 | Slow Hands 3:04 | 89 |
| 6 | Not Even Jail 5:46 | 88 |
| 7 | Public Pervert 4:40 | 85 |
| 8 | C'mere 3:11 | 90 |
| 9 | Length of Love 4:06 | 79 |
| 10 | A Time to Be So Small 4:50 | 86 |
Total Length: 41 minutes
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9mo
None of the songs being a 90 or higher is criminal. This album should have a higher rating too tbh
11mo
why is Evil so perfect? i know its the most popular but this is the only song ive been listening to for almost 5 years atp, and it never gets old. this song is like a 12/10.