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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.[1] 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. Its title is taken from a repeated line in the song "NYC".

Turn On the Bright Lights
Red lights on a movie strip with a red piece of paper underneath against a black background
Studio album by
Interpol
ReleasedAugust 19, 2002
RecordedNovember 2001
StudioTarquin (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
Genre
Length49:02
LabelMatador
Producer
Interpol chronology
Interpol
(2002) 		Turn On the Bright Lights
(2002) 		The Black EP
(2003)
Singles from Turn On the Bright Lights
  1. "PDA"
    Released: August 22, 2002
  2. "Obstacle 1"
    Released: November 11, 2002
  3. "Say Hello to the Angels" / "NYC"
    Released: April 14, 2003

Upon release, the record peaked at number 101 on the UK Albums Chart. It reached number 158 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, as well as spending 73 weeks on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, peaking at number five. 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".

Music

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In a brief interview about the fifteenth anniversary of Turn On the Bright Lights, 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".[2]

Promotion and release

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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.[3] The song "PDA" is featured as a playable track in 2008 video game Rock Band 2.[4]

10th anniversary edition

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In 2012 a remastered version of the album was released in order to commemorate its tenth anniversary. It featured additional material including demo recordings of several tracks, the bonus songs previously available on international releases and a DVD of live performances and music videos.[5] Many of the demo recording tracks had been previously released however the 10th Anniversary Edition also contains five unreleased demo tracks from what is dubbed "Third Demo".[6]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[9]
Houston Chronicle     [10]
Los Angeles Times    [11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork9.5/10[13]
Record Collector     [14]
Rolling Stone     [15]
Slant Magazine     [16]
The Village VoiceC+[17]

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".[7] Contemporary reviews of the album often noted Interpol's influences and drew comparisons to several other acts.[5] 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."[18] "It's almost as if Ian Curtis never hanged himself," began Blender's review, with critic Jonah Weiner adding that Paul Banks' vocals channeled Curtis' "gloomy moan."[19] NME's Victoria Segal called Joy Division comparisons "obvious and unmistakable, airbourne in the ashen atmospherics," while praising Interpol's take on the "grey-skinned British past".[12] Billboard wrote that Interpol had created an "homage to their particular vision of the '80s that stands proudly alongside the best of its idols."[20] Scott Seward, writing in The Village Voice, remarked: "If I like them because they remind me of eating bad bathtub mescaline in the woods and listening to Cure singles, well, that'll do. You might like them for completely different reasons."[21]

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",[22] while Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote that their "sleek, melancholy sound is a thing of glacial beauty".[15] 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."[13] However, The Village Voice'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".[17] Q's lukewarm assessment of the album described it as "predictably claustrophobic listening".[23]

At the end of the year, Turn On the Bright Lights featured on several publications' lists of the best albums of 2002, including those of Pitchfork, who named it the year's best album,[24] NME, who ranked it at number ten,[25] and Stylus Magazine, who ranked it at number five.[26] The album placed at number 15 on The Village Voice's year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[27]

Legacy

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Hailed as a seminal album of the 2000s,[28][29][30][31][32][33] Turn On the Bright Lights has been cited as an influence on many indie rock bands, including the Killers,[34] Editors,[35][36] the xx,[37] the Organ,[38] She Wants Revenge,[39] and others to the extent that many of these bands have been disparagingly referred to as "Interpol clones".[40] Closely associated with 9/11-era New York City,[41] 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.[42] Summing up the album's impact in a review of its 2012 re-issue, 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."[5] In 2017, the band embarked on a worldwide tour to celebrate its 15th anniversary.[43]

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."[44] 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."[45]

At the end of the decade, the album has been featured on numerous lists:

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Accolades for Turn On the Bright Lights
Publication Accolade Rank
Pitchfork Top 100 Albums 2000–2004 3[46]
Pitchfork Top 200 Albums of the 2000s 20[47]
Stylus Top 50 Albums 2000–2005 6[48]
Stylus Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 20[49]
NME 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade 8[50]
NME 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 130[51]
Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of the Decade 59[52]
Under the Radar Top 200 Albums of the Decade 3[53]
Beats Per Minute Top 100 Albums of the Decade 7[54]
eMusic 100 Best Albums of the Decade 9
Lost At Sea 2000–2009: Albums of the Decade 13[55]
The Irish Times Top 20 Albums of the Decade 10[56]
Consequence of Sound Top 100 Albums of the Decade 35[57]
musicOMH 21 Best Albums of the 2000s 12
The Guardian 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century 50[58]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Paul Banks, Daniel Kessler, Carlos Dengler and Sam Fogarino

Turn On the Bright Lights track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Untitled"3:56
2."Obstacle 1"4:11
3."NYC"4:20
4."PDA"4:59
5."Say Hello to the Angels"4:28
6."Hands Away"3:05
7."Obstacle 2"3:47
8."Stella was a diver and she was always down"6:28
9."Roland"3:35
10."The New"6:07
11."Leif Erikson"4:00
Total length:48:56

Personnel

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Interpol

Audio engineers

  • All songs recorded by Peter Katis
  • Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 mixed by Peter Katis
  • Tracks 3, 6, 8, 11 mixed by Gareth Jones
  • Recorded and mixed at Tarquin Studios
  • Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound

Design

  • Sean McCabe – photography, design
  • Andrew Zaeh – photography

Charts

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Chart performance for Turn On the Bright Lights
Chart (2002–2003) Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[59] 4
French Albums (SNEP)[60] 62
Scottish Albums (OCC)[61] 78
UK Albums (OCC)[62] 101
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[63] 11
US Billboard 200[64] 158
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[65] 5

Certifications and sales

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Certifications and sales for Turn On the Bright Lights
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Mexico — 20,000[66]
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] Gold 138,000[67]
United States (RIAA)[70] Gold 522,000[69]
Summaries
Worldwide — 1,000,000[71]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Matador Records - Store". Matador Records official website. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  2. ^ InterpolVEVO (May 11, 2018), Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights XV, archived from the original on December 22, 2021, retrieved April 7, 2019
  3. ^ Kershaw, Richard (February 14, 2003). "Review / Interpol @ Astoria, 9/02/03". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  4. ^ Snow, Jean (July 14, 2008). "The Complete Rock Band 2 Track List". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c LeMay, Matt (December 4, 2012). "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights: The Tenth Anniversary Edition". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. ^ "Buy Turn On The Bright Lights: The 10th Anniversary Edition now from store.matadorrecords.com". Turn On The Bright Lights: The 10th Anniversary Edition by Interpol on store.matadorrecords.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Reviews for Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol". Metacritic. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  8. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Turn on the Bright Lights – Interpol". AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  9. ^ Serpick, Evan (August 23, 2002). "Turn on the Bright Lights". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  10. ^ Martinez, Rebekah (March 13, 2003). "Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Bronson, Kevin (September 8, 2002). "Interpol 'Turn on the Bright Lights' Matador". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Segal, Victoria (August 17, 2002). "Interpol: Turn On The Bright Lights". NME: 34. ISSN 0028-6362. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  13. ^ a b Carr, Eric (August 18, 2002). "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  14. ^ Pearlman, Mischa (December 25, 2012). "Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights". Record Collector (409). Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (August 14, 2002). "Turn On The Bright Lights". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  16. ^ Liedel, Kevin (December 19, 2012). "Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights: Tenth Anniversary Edition". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  17. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (April 1, 2003). "Consumer Guide: As Long As I Still Can". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  18. ^ Chamy, Michael (September 6, 2002). "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights (Matador)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  19. ^ Weiner, Jonah (September 2002). "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights". Blender (9): 148. Archived from the original on October 25, 2004. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  20. ^ "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights". Billboard. September 14, 2002. Archived from the original on September 11, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  21. ^ Seward, Scott (October 8, 2002). "Romeo's Tune". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  22. ^ Murray, Noel (September 9, 2002). "Interpol: Turn On The Bright Lights". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  23. ^ "Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights". Q (194): 107. September 2002.
  24. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2002". Pitchfork. January 1, 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  25. ^ "Albums And Tracks Of The Year: 2002". NME. October 10, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  26. ^ "Stylus' 20 Favorite Albums of 2002". Stylus Magazine. December 30, 2002. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  27. ^ "The 2002 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. February 18, 2003. Archived from the original on March 2, 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  28. ^ "Cap the Old Times: The Story of Interpol's Turn On the Bright Lights - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. November 29, 2012.
  29. ^ "Interpol announce Turn On the Bright Lights 15th anniversary tour". January 23, 2017.
  30. ^ "13 Years Ago: Interpol Release 'Turn On the Bright Lights'". Diffuser.fm. August 20, 2015.
  31. ^ Zaleski, Annie (November 20, 2012). "Interpol's Turn On The Bright Lights brought sexy back to indie rock". The A.V. Club.
  32. ^ "Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol". Metacritic.
  33. ^ Pitchfork Staff (October 2, 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  34. ^ "9 things you didn't know about Interpol's 'Turn On the Bright Lights' - NME". NME. January 24, 2017.
  35. ^ Chattman, Jon (March 18, 2010). "Editors' Frontman on the New Album and Leaving the Interpol Comparison Behind". HuffPost.
  36. ^ "Interpol: 'We Feel Sorry For Editors'". July 30, 2007.
  37. ^ "The xx: xx Album Review - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
  38. ^ "The Organ: Grab That Gun Album Review - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
  39. ^ "She Wants Revenge: She Wants Revenge Album Review - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
  40. ^ Diehl, Matt (September 24, 2013). My So-Called Punk: Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Distillers, Bad Religion---How Neo-Punk Stage-Dived into the Mainstream. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466853065 – via Google Books.
  41. ^ "Turn On The Bright Lights Turns 10". August 17, 2012.
  42. ^ "Interpol discuss rivalry with The Strokes - NME". NME. August 30, 2014.
  43. ^ "Interpol Announce European Tour for 15th Anniversary of Turn On the Bright Lights". January 23, 2017.
  44. ^ "Paul Banks Rates Interpol's Five Albums". August 23, 2018.
  45. ^ "Q & A with Interpol's Sam Fogarino".
  46. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 2000–2004". Pitchfork. February 7, 2005.
  47. ^ "Top 200 Albums of 2000s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
  48. ^ "Top 50 Albums 2000–2005". Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  49. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 2000s". Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  50. ^ "Top Albums of the 00s". NME. November 11, 2009.
  51. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
  52. ^ "100 Best Albums of the Decade". Rolling Stone. July 18, 2011.
  53. ^ "Top 200 Albums of the Decade". January 8, 2010.
  54. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 2000s". February 15, 2010.
  55. ^ "2000-2009: Albums of the Decade". Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  56. ^ "Top 20 Albums of the Decade". The Irish Times. October 3, 2023.
  57. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the Decade". November 17, 2009.
  58. ^ "The 100 best albums of the 21st century". The Guardian. September 13, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  59. ^ "ARIA Report: Issue 705" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  60. ^ "Lescharts.com – Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  61. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  62. ^ Rogers, Simon (November 19, 2009). "NME's top 50 albums of the decade: how high did they get in the charts?". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  63. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  64. ^ "Interpol Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  65. ^ "Interpol Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  66. ^ Furniss, Olaf (May 6, 2006). "Noiselab Raises Indie Acts' Volume In Mexico". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  67. ^ "Iconic albums turning 20 in 2022". Official Charts. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  68. ^ "British album certifications – Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights". British Phonographic Industry.
  69. ^ Menze, Jill (August 13, 2010). "Interpol Returns To Matador For Fourth Album". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  70. ^ "American album certifications – Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights". Recording Industry Association of America.
  71. ^ Menze, Jill (May 1, 2017). "INTERPOL ANNOUNCES TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS 15TH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS IN NYC & LA". Red Light Management. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
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