'We concocted alchemy': Interpol reflect on 20 years of Antics

This year marks 20 years of Interpol’s second album Antics, a record which not only spawned some of the band’s best loved singles but cemented their status as one of the brightest lights to emerge from the early- ‘00s NYC indie rock explosion. Headliner sat down with frontman Paul Banks and guitarist Daniel Kessler to take an in-depth look at life inside the band at that time, and why the album marked the end of an era for Interpol as we knew it…

Interpol have always stood awkwardly alongside their contemporaries. The early ‘00s NYC indie explosion that spawned them was a raucous, hot, sweaty mess of rock’n’roll excess. Though bearing their own sonic, musical, and aesthetic identities, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Rapture et al were each possessed of an incendiary core that threatened to blow up at any given moment.

Though very much part of the scene, Interpol were something different entirely. In appearance, they bore greater resemblance to Kraftwerk than your average indie rock upstarts. The trio who remains to this day - singer Paul Banks, guitarist Daniel Kessler, and drummer Sam Fogarino – eschewed ripped jeans, leather jackets, skinny t-shirts, and Converse sneakers in favour of black three-piece suits and ties. Meanwhile, their talismanic bassist, Carlos D - who would leave the band in 2010 - resembled something of a vampire gunslinger, often offsetting his jet-black attire with a black leather holster.

Their music, of course, was what truly set them apart. Where you could almost feel the sweat dripping off the walls when listening to early records from those aforementioned peers, the icy chill of Interpol’s acclaimed 2022 debut Turn On The Bright Lights - the glacial reverb of the guitars, the disembodied voice emanating from Banks’s mouth, the lithe metronomy of the rhythm section – shared more in common with the musical DNA of England’s North West than America’s East Coast.

Despite the positive critical response with which Bright Lights was met, it was just one of many debut albums coming out of NYC at the time being pounced on by the music press on both sides of the Atlantic. It was arguably with follow-up, Antics, which celebrates its 20^th anniversary this year, that Interpol not only distanced themselves from what was becoming a much imitated and saturated scene but proved themselves to be more than a passing fad. The  record felt like a natural progression from Bright Lights. There was a tangible sense of cohesion and maturity in the composition of this batch of songs, with splashes of synths and electronics warming the tone ever so slightly.

“I recall being very mindful of this idea of a sophomore slump, and aware that the follow up would be very important,” Banks tells Headliner, joining us from Berlin via Zoom. “We knew there were a lot of eyes watching, like, is this a flash in the pan? I wanted to make sure we left a strong impact with our second album to answer that question: we are here to stay. So, it was important to establish we were serious, and we were just feeling really good with our creative flow.”

Kessler, who joins us via Zoom from Barcelona a few days later, describes a similar mentality within the band. Banks often comes across as measured and philosophical, perhaps a touch more economical in his responses than his bandmate, who speaks a little faster and with a lightness that feels more conversational. Both are thoughtful and eloquent, speaking with genuine affection for the album and the regard in which it is still held.

“When we finished Bright Lights and released it, we didn’t know what to expect,” recalls Kessler. “We had been a band for five years before that and no one had paid much attention to us, and we didn’t have a huge following. But we hoped one day we would get the opportunity to make a record and then word-of-mouth started happening. The shows were getting busier, and at that moment I was very mindful of not overthinking what we do next.

“Back then there was always this talk of the sophomore slump and whether or not the attention we were getting would affect how we were writing. So, I wanted to keep writing in between tours for Bright Lights - when we finished a US tour we’d write, and then when we’d finish an overseas tour we’d write. We kept doing that so that we didn’t have time to overthink things. And it served us really well. By the end of touring Bright Lights we had a surplus of songs and a little bit of time to work on the remaining songs. We never stopped writing and that was really good for us. It meant we didn’t come off the back of Bright Lights with a blank slate thinking, ‘well now what do we do’?”

As for whether they felt any external expectations to replicate the success of their debut, Banks insists that the only pressure came from within the band itself, as they sought to capitalise on the creative momentum they had been building.

“Having a desire to go out and succeed is one thing but having what it takes to actually do it is another,” he says. “It was nothing to do with competition with other artists, it was much more that we had concocted this alchemy, which we felt was very strong. We were fortunate to be confident and mindful that were really writing good shit together.

“There was some discussion from Carlos about taking a break after Bright Lights,” he continues. “But we had to say no and that we thought it was better to keep going - don’t let the party end just yet. Let’s get the first two out and then we can take a pause. I think that was the right call.”

Like Bright Lights, Antics was produced by Peter Katis (Death Cab For Cutie, Gang Of Youths, The National), who helped bring their increasingly polished sound to the fore. Tracks like Take You On A Cruise and Not Even Jail presented the band in all its elegance and dynamism, while singles Evil and Slow Hands would become instant classics that have endured to this day.

“We were progressing as musicians having done almost two years of touring,” says Kessler of the band’s evolution. “The mindset when making Bright Lights was to make it sound like how it sounds to see us live, instead of trying to redefine those songs in some way. Antics sounds like that too, but there are more keyboards, and it just sounds like there’s a bit more experience under the belt. And because it was written so quickly it has a cohesive feel. We were also working with Peter Katis again, as we felt really comfortable with him. we loved him as a human and we were already familiar with the way he works.”

To mark the 20^th anniversary of Antics, Interpol have been playing the album live in its entirety and in sequence. They’ve also been rifling through the vaults for old photographs and recordings from the time.

“It’s humbling and it puts into context the passing of time, as it doesn’t feel that long ago,” says Banks of how he has found this period of reflection. “One still remembers it vividly, but so much has come and gone since then. And revisiting those memories and doing something commemorative for a period of your life is a beautiful thing; it gives you an excuse to bring out those old photographs that transport you to memories you haven’t dusted off in a while. You think about mortality, and it puts things into context.

“I often think about the idea that you only get one shot at this and how have you spent that time,” he continues. “One has a lot of creative ambitions in life, and you can only do so many things, but the fact that one of the things I’ve been able to achieve was a collaborative effort feels important. Going it alone is great and there are personal accomplishments, but to accomplish things collaboratively feels like time well spent. So, looking back at those times feels heartening; that this band of weirdos could make four records together means a lot – that’s regarding the original lineup.”

Kessler shares similar sentiments to Banks when reflecting on life inside the band between 2002-2004, while also taking a moment to consider the wider context of the music scene. Hyped at the time and mythologised since, the era has been the subject of much discussion over the past couple of years, not least on account of Lizzy Goodman’s extensive written account of the time, Meet Me In The Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001–2011 and the subsequent documentary film iteration Meet Me In The Bathroom. 

“It’s a bit of both,” Kessler replies when asked if the time was as vibrant and exciting as it appears today when viewed through an historical lens. “The Strokes were the first New York band to ignite the global interest around what was going on in the city, and once there was this spotlight you could see The Walkmen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio, The Rapture - all these great bands were doing something very original and cool. And with an urgency. It’s easy to think we were all sharing guitars and rehearsal space, which is romantic, but the fact is we were all quite different. Maybe the urgency of the city was somewhere in the background for all of us to a degree. That’s something we may have had in common.

“It's easy to lump it all together but it was very separate,” he continues. “It’s also the nature of rock’n’roll to romanticise these things. But when I think about that time with a bit of distance, I can’t imagine something like that existing now, We didn’t know those other bands. The first time I even properly heard The Strokes was when I was looking in the back of The Village Voice or Time Out to see who’s coming to town. And I saw that this band was playing a residency at one of the clubs we sometimes played, and I was like, how is this local band able to do a weekly residency? I was astounded. It was so hard for us to even draw 20 people, so how were they able to sell out this thing? It was extremely exciting, and it was the beginning of something actually emerging.

“It was also pre social media; it was of the moment, and all of these bands were in the same city but didn’t really know about each other. Nowadays, you would hear about them one way or another. And it would be harder for a band to have that time to develop. It was a really unique period. The whole fraternity thing is romanticised, but there were definitely a lot of great bands that emerged and their music has aged extraordinarily well.”

The release of Antics, Banks and Kessler concur, would come to represent an end of an era for Interpol as the world knew it. Though the departure of bassist Carlos D would come six years and two albums later, the band would go on to change record label and producer for their third record Our Love To Admire (2007), exhibiting a more expansive sound.

“There was a sense not wanting to stay in the same place,” says Banks. “We wanted to see what happens if we shake it up. And I think our third album has aged very well, it’s exciting and has a sleekness and a fuel injection. The label situation worked out less well, but the record was a good thing. So yes, it was an end of an era after Antics.”

“There was a lot of things happening,” Kessler recalls. “There was definitely the want to progress and evolve – more keyboards, new sounds. We didn’t want to do Antics part two. There were also things changing personally in our lives after touring so extensively for the first two albums.”

Two decades on, Interpol have now released seven studio albums and have been a constant on the international touring circuit. The bond between Banks, Kessler, and Fogarino, it seems, is tighter than ever, with the trio currently working on new material for album number eight.

“You can never take anything for granted,” Kessler considers deeply. “Maybe one day my creative well will be dry and I won’t be able to write new things that excite me. But the truth is I haven’t had that moment. And when we get together or we send ideas around it never feels like a chore. It’s not work; it’s a deep desire that we’ve always had. And it’s still the same now. If that wasn’t there, we would take a big break, or we wouldn’t do it.

“Also, from a personal level, being in a band is an incredible opportunity and experiment in human communication, in patience, respect, and how you express something or listen to an idea. And if you are in a band for a while you should get better at that. It’s not just making records. You’re sailors together. You’re traveling together, you’re constantly in hotel lobbies. To have found these people who have enriched your life is such a treat. As time goes on you really appreciate it and understand that these are lifelong relationships. There are very few things, unless you’re in a band, that can approximate it. I’m just so thankful I found these people.”

Banks is similarly philosophical on the matter.

“I think it has to do with a likeness of mind and kindredship of spirit between the three of us,” he says. “We are still creatively motivated and inspired, but along the way we also didn’t discover other passions that took us off this path. I think we’ve all discovered and cultivated new passions but none that have usurped this idea that we want to create and perform together. That shared work ethic and vision is one of the things that differentiates you from bands that implode or disassemble over time.

“There is still that creative chemistry and this personality element, where people don’t fall by the wayside with substances or they don’t just say, ‘Fuck it, and go and live on a farm’. Which is a very valid alternate pursuit,” he smiles, “but none of us have decided to do that yet.”

You can read our 2022 interview with Banks on Interpol's The Other Side Of Make Believe album here. 

You can also listen to extended interviews on Antics with Banks and Kessler below.