Interpol are back after 3 years away, and going by this first single not much has changed. Paul Banks still sounds uncannily like Ian Curtis (or Tom Smith from Editors for you youngsters), Daniel Kessler is still producing those fantastically jagged guitar riffs, and they still sound doomy yet emotional.
This is, of course, a very good thing. Nobody (not even Editors) does sweeping, broody, epic dark rock as well as the New York quartet and The Heinrich Maneuver proves it. Banks sounds like his heart's about to break as he bumps into an old flame who's presumably moved over to the other side of the country to him ("how are things on the west coast" is a line running through the song), and takes her out dancing for the night.
That whole Interpol sound is as impressive as ever too with some particularly good guitar work from Kessler. The band's often derided lyrical skills are superb too, dealing with the complexities of diving back into a relationship that's already failed once. All very old-school Interpol, and the good news for fans is that the forthcoming album is even better. Welcome back to New York's finest.
