Turn On the Bright Lights
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Turn On the Bright Lights is the debut studio album by American rock band Interpol. It was released in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2002, and in the United States the following day, through independent record label Matador Records.<ref name="Release Date">Template:Cite web</ref> The album was recorded in November 2001 at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was co-produced, mixed and engineered by Peter Katis and Gareth Jones. The title derives from a recurring lyric in the song "NYC".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Upon release, the record peaked at No. 101 on the UK Albums Chart. It reached No. 158 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, as well as spending 73 weeks on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, peaking at No. 5.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The songs "PDA", "Obstacle 1" and the double A-side single "Say Hello to the Angels" / "NYC" were released as singles, with music videos being shot for all except "Say Hello to the Angels".
Composition and writing
Template:Expand section In a brief interview about the fifteenth anniversary of Turn On the Bright Lights, Interpol guitarist Daniel Kessler stated the album's opening track, "Untitled" was written specifically to open the band's live shows. Lead singer Paul Banks described the riff from the song as "signature Daniel".<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Promotion and release
The release of Turn On the Bright Lights was preceded by the marketing of the band's self-titled EP Interpol in June 2002, their first release for Matador. The EP contained three tracks: radio single "PDA", future single "NYC", and "Specialist". All three tracks later appeared on the album, with "Specialist" included as a bonus track in Australian and Japanese editions. Further promotion continued at the beginning of the following year, when the band played the 2003 NME Awards Tour alongside the Datsuns, the Polyphonic Spree and the Thrills.<ref name="tour 2003">Template:Cite web</ref> The song "PDA" is featured as a playable track in 2008 video game Rock Band 2.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
10th anniversary edition
In 2012, a remastered edition of Turn On the Bright Lights was issued to commemorate the album’s tenth anniversary. The release featured a range of additional material, including early demo recordings, bonus tracks previously exclusive to international editions, and a DVD containing live performances and music videos.<ref name="10 anniversary" /> It also introduced five previously unreleased tracks from the band’s “Third Demo” sessions, providing further insight into the development of the album’s sound during its formative period.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Critical reception
Template:Music ratings Turn On the Bright Lights was released to critical acclaim. The album holds a score of 81 out of 100 from the aggregate site Metacritic based on 21 reviews, indicating universal acclaim.<ref name="Metacritic"/> Contemporary reviews of the album often noted Interpol's influences and drew comparisons to several other acts.<ref name="10 anniversary"/> Michael Chamy of The Austin Chronicle cited "melodic Peter Hook-like basslines; the divine shoegazer textures of My Bloody Valentine and Ride; a peppy, Strokes-like bounce; and a singer who's a dead ringer for Ian Curtis."<ref name="AC">Template:Cite news</ref> "It's almost as if Ian Curtis never hanged himself," began BlenderTemplate:'s review, with critic Jonah Weiner adding that Paul Banks' vocals echoed Curtis' "gloomy moan."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
NME's Victoria Segal argued that the album's "ashen atmospherics" made comparisons to Joy Division both "obvious and unmistakable," while praising Interpol's take on the "grey‑skinned British past."<ref name="NME" /> Billboard wrote that Interpol had created an "homage to their particular vision of the '80s that stands proudly alongside the best of its idols."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Scott Seward, writing in The Village Voice, remarked that while he appreciated the band because they evoked "eating bad bathtub mescaline in the woods and listening to Cure singles," he sarcasticaly acknowledged that others "might like them for completely different reasons."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Noel Murray of The A.V. Club opined that Interpol's virtue "lies in the way its music unfurls from pinched openings to wide-open codas",<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> while Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote that their "sleek, melancholy sound is a thing of glacial beauty."<ref name="RS" /> Eric Carr of Pitchfork argued that the band had forged their own distinct sound, "a grander, more theatrical atmosphere with lush production that counters their frustrated bombast", praising Turn On the Bright Lights as "one of the most strikingly passionate records I've heard this year."<ref name="Pitchfork" /> However, The Village VoiceTemplate:'s Robert Christgau, naming it "Dud of the Month" in his Consumer Guide column, felt that Interpol "exemplify and counsel disengagement, self-seeking, a luxurious cynicism," downplaying Joy Division comparisons as "too kind".<ref name="Christgau" /> QTemplate:'s lukewarm assessment of the album described it as "predictably claustrophobic listening".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
By the end of 2002, Turn On the Bright Lights featured on several publications' end-of-year lists, including Pitchfork, who named it the best album of the year,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NME, who ranked it at No. 10,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Stylus Magazine, who ranked it at No. 5.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album placed at No. 15 on The Village VoiceTemplate:'s year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Legacy
Hailed as a seminal album of the 2000s,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name= "Pitchfork Staff 2009">Template:Cite web</ref> Turn On the Bright Lights has been cited as an influence on many indie rock bands, including the Killers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Editors,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the xx,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Organ,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She Wants Revenge,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and others to the extent that many of these bands have been disparagingly referred to as "Interpol clones".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Closely associated with 9/11-era New York City,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the album has been seen as helping define 2000s indie rock, and Interpol have been cited as helping usher in the New York-born post-punk revival scene, along with contemporaries such as the Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and TV on the Radio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Summing up the album's impact in a review of its 2012 reissue, Matt LeMay of Pitchfork wrote: "Suggesting that this album is simply a product of its time and place is no less naive than suggesting that anyone who has ever been in love could easily write, arrange and record an amazing love song. There were a lot of good bands in New York in 2002, but only one band made this record."<ref name="10 anniversary">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2017, the band embarked on a worldwide tour to celebrate the album's album's 15th anniversary.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In a 2018 interview with Vice, Paul Banks stated:
"as far as ease of making it, we had years to write these songs. The longest writing period of any of your records is your debut. We formed in 1997, so it's five years, and three-and-a-half/four of playing shows and trying out that material. So it went down smoothly in the studio, and then you have all the excitement of it being your first album. It was a good time in our lives."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Drummer Sam Fogarino reflected on the album by saying:
"we were very naïve, we didn’t know how to make a record together, and we were lucky to have a good snapshot taken of who we were at the time. And we got a little more confident with every record."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Accolades
Accolades for Turn On the Bright Lights Publication Accolade Rank Pitchfork Top 100 Albums 2000–2004 3<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pitchfork Top 200 Albums of the 2000s 20<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stylus Top 50 Albums 2000–2005 6<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stylus Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 20<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NME 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade 8<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NME 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 130<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of the Decade 59<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Under the Radar Top 200 Albums of the Decade 3<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Beats Per Minute Top 100 Albums of the Decade 7<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lost At Sea 2000–2009: Albums of the Decade 13<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Irish Times Top 20 Albums of the Decade 10<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Consequence of Sound Top 100 Albums of the Decade 35<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Guardian 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century 50<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Track listing
Personnel
Interpol
- Paul Banks – vocals, rhythm guitar
- Daniel Kessler – lead guitar, vocals on "PDA"
- Carlos D – bass guitar, keyboards
- Samuel Fogarino – drums, percussion
Audio engineers
- All songs recorded by Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios
- All songs mixed at Tarquin Studios
- Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 mixed by Peter Katis
- Tracks 3, 6, 8, 11 mixed by Gareth Jones
- Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
Design
- Sean McCabe – photography, design
- Andrew Zaeh – photography
Charts
| Chart (2002–2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> | 4 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref name="NME top 50">Template:Cite web</ref> | 101 |
Certifications and sales
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