Interpol

Bridezilla are consistently impressive live, but it’s often confined to momentary enthralment. The Sydney quintet’s 2009 debut album, The First Dance, hinted at profundity, but its lack of hooks stood out more patently than the pomegranate in its alluring cover art. As reverential as Bridezilla’s unique and experimental sound is, one senses that the band are, at times, performing solely for themselves with little regard for their audience. They seem more intent on maintaining a stringently enigmatic air than drawing listeners into a discernable vision. It’s evident that their fans struggle to recall song names as the quintet’s compositions seem more suited to the aesthetics of a film score. However, due to their flourishing potential (an entrancing frontwoman in Holiday ‘Sidewinder’ Carmen-Sparks and talented musicians in violinist Daisy Tulley and saxophonist Millie Hall), Bridezilla remain a musical entity worth watching with earnest anticipation.

Former Interpol bassist Carlos Dengler could never be – truly – replaced. After all, there is perhaps no musician in modern rock more impressively/delectably suave and amusingly/insufferably pompous than Mr. Dengler. Nevertheless, incorporating bassist David Pajo (Slint, Zwan, Tortoise, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and keyboardist Brandon Curtis (The Secret Machines) into Interpol’s live lineup has acquired compelling results. Pajo gained much respect from Melbourne fans tonight for taking up the band’s crucial bass reins with such aplomb, especially considering Dengler had recorded all the bass parts for Interpol’s fourth album prior to his departure.

The stately gloom of Success – the opening song on Interpol’s self-titled fourth album – was an incredible set opener. Frontman Paul Banks’ gravelly baritone penetrated the humidity of the night with its icy intonations proving seductively haunting. The rapturous cheers that greeted Say Hello To The Angels assured me that I was not the only audience member to have almost pulled a muscle upon reacting to the opening strains of the hypnotic classic. Leif Erikson, The New and Obstacle 1 – from Interpol’s seminal 2002 debut album, Turn On The Bright Lights – stood out in Interpol’s consistently gripping main set.

The engrossingly pensive air of Narc as well as Take You On A Cruise – from their 2004 sophomore album, Antics – were inevitably outsung and outshone by the record’s biggest hits, Evil and Slow Hands. The remarkably adroit execution ofRest My Chemistry was a highlight and was one of only two songs (the other being Mammoth) performed from their 2007 third album, Our Love To Admire. Only the first half of Interpol’s latest album was performed, but most were embraced nearly as fervently as their classics. Sam Fogarino’s austere drumming at the end of Memory Serves reverberated long into the night while guitarist Daniel Kessler was the most animated member of the band; reacting to the darkly alluring rhythms in a visibly transfixed state of mind.

Banks was evidently enjoying himself as he thanked the Melbourne audience profusely for bookending their Australian tour in an “amazing and wonderful” fashion. It was a sentiment that was rendered unequivocally mutual when Interpol indulged their already overwhelmed fans with an outstanding encore comprising NYC, PDA and Not Even Jail.

It’s apparent that as vital as Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics are, Interpol’s lack of concern for following trends and writing “hits” has come through more pertinently on their self-titled fourth album, as has their desire to experiment within their distinctive sound; consequently, it’s this realisation that renders Interpol as relevant as ever.

The stylish New York City post-punk group may still adorn themselves in strikingly dapper suits in 30 degree-plus weather, but their uncompromising substance burns through the fabric of high-end style in the same way that the harrowing intensity of their deftly executed repertoire penetrates the very depths of our sensitivities.